The Si17 Soundislands Festival is about Sound and Movement: sonic dances with voice, body, ear, eye, hand, machine, body, floor, camera, time, body, and gravity. The concept of gesture concerns research music and contemporary dance in equal measure. Technologies such as motion tracking and machine learning allow a tight coupling between the physical reality of the body in motion and the abstract sensations induced by the auditory environment. The cinematic capture of visuals, as a trace of bodies in space, and post-produced sound, allows scripting audience expectations.
The result is dance film, an intermedia art form that explores the illusions and imaginary representations of the synchronised movements of limbs and larynx. In its third edition, this biannual event places the search light on dance film, local and international, thus pursuing the investigation of how sound relates to other media and perceptual modalities. Investigating technology, Si17 also features mechatronic performances that combine engineering and artwork with robotic dancers and music-making machines.
The theme of Si13 was Sound and Interactivity; the theme of Si15 was Sound and Multisensorial Integration. Join artists, dancers, filmmakers, musicians, scholars, and technologists at The Arts House, 5–10 April 2017, for performances, film screenings, a site-specific installation, and a symposium.
Founded by PerMagnus Lindborg and co-chaired by Joyce Beetuan Koh, in partnership with CineMovementand Good Company Arts (New Zealand), and supported by The Arts House, the Si17 Soundislands Festival proudly present artists and scholars Daniel Belton (New Zealand), Elysa Wendi (Singapore/Hong Kong), Jeremy Chua (Singapore), Jim Murphy & Bridget Johnson (New Zealand), Stephanie Burridge (Singapore), and Jon He (Singapore).
Dr PerMagnus Lindborg, Chair
Dr Joyce Beetuan Koh, Co-chair
Soundislands, in partnership with CineMovemen and Good Company Arts, and with support from The Arts House, present:
5 –10 April 2017
Venue: The Arts House, 1 Old Parliament Lane, Singapore 179429
Web: http://www.soundislands.com/si17
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/303028273449500
The Si17 Soundislands Festival opens with a live performance of an unique fusion of music and dance film for expanded cinema, AXIS - Anatomy of Space. The installation is open (free admission) 6–10 April. AXIS is a collaboration between Good Company Arts (New Zealand) and renowned artists Joyce Beetuan Koh, PerMagnus Lindborg, Tanya Carlson, Jac Grenfell, Donnine Harrison, and the Royal New Zealand Ballet, under the artistic leadership of Daniel Belton.
Meet the artists! is a specially designed event where school students get to experience AXIS - Anatomy of Space, peeking behind the screen to meet some of the people who created this unique multidisciplinary artwork. With choreographer and filmmaker Daniel Belton (New Zealand), composer and sound designer PerMagnus Lindborg (Singapore/Sweden), and their colleagues.
The Festival film program, curated by CineMovement, features three dance films: ‘One minute breath’ by Elysa Wendi (Hong Kong/Singapore), ‘The Forest of Copper Column by Russell Morton (Singapore), and ‘The Mist’ by Liao Jia Kai (Singapore). Introduction and Q&A with CineMovement.
Sound x movement x engineering = mechatronic art. The second part of the evening features two live performances. Jon He (Singapore) presents ‘Serrate Study I’ on an ensemble of mechatronic scrapper percussion and ‘g.qin’, a custom-made gestural controller. Bridget Johnson & Jim Murphy (New Zealand) present ‘Pivotal Space’, merging new technologies with natural environments to create a spatial exploration of mechanical, processed, and organic motion, featuring their unique mechatronic instruments ‘swivel’ and ‘speaker.motion’. Introduction and Q&A with Jon He.
The theme of the Si17 Symposium, Sound and Movement, is analysed, kneaded, and served up hot by invited artists and researchers, with added spices from their own diverse backgrounds and point of view. Papers include:
The papers are followed by a panel, moderated by Dr Stephanie Burridge, with Dr Joyce Beetuan Koh, Ms Elysa Wendi, Mr Jeremy Chua, and Mr Daniel Belton, and a Q&A.