Reflections by Opera Gallery, Art et antiquités

REFLECTIONS

Margarida Sardinha 18

Daniel Rozin 22

Yuri Suzuki 24

Kristin and Davy McGuire 32

Memo Akten 40

Amanda Charchian

Reflections

In 1996, a group of seven young researchers walked down the halls of Massachusetts Institute of Technology with dreams of being cyborgs. Carrying computer transmitters in their back pockets, the group was intent on exploring the way humans could live in a simultaneously physical and virtual world. Their process was painful at first; their devices an interference. But gradually the group learned to integrate technology into their lives to the point where its presence became tolerable, then familiar, then inseparable to their physical identities. In its persistence, technology had allowed the group to expand their capacity of perception and interaction with the three-dimensional world, offering an exotic connectivity of poetic, existential magnitude. Twenty years later, we are all cyborgs. Increasingly dedicating more time to the Internet through our virtual social media avatars, we have succeeded in cloning our physical selves to live permanently in two separate dimensions. Our perceptive reality has been shaped accordingly. A culture of the flat-image, our screens have become two-dimensional windows into a multi-dimensional realm; our interpersonal connections equally, if not more so, sustained through our digital rather than physical interactions. Tantalized by the impact of these gradual and irreversible shifts on the nature of speculation, Opera Gallery is thrilled to present Reflections, an exhibition of predominantly digital art curated by Neil Augmented Reality (AR) functions as a live view of reality augmented by computer sensory input. Information about the real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable, thus enhancing oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current perception of reality. Follow these simple instructions to experience augmented reality on the catalogue artworks accompanied by the AR pictogram:

McConnon, Head of Barbican International Enterprises, Barbican Centre.

1. Download the free app ONpoint for Android or iPhone

Gilles Dyan

Jean-David Malat

2. Scan the artworks marked with

Founder & Chairman Opera Gallery Group

Director Opera Gallery London

3. Watch the image digitally transform

Foreword

Digital technology has become an all pervasive medium. Over recent decades it has evolved into a force for creation and expression on a scale beyond anything most of us might have dared imagine. ‘Digital’ is now embedded within almost every aspect of the contemporary life of ‘industrialised countries’, with huge global implications - positive and negative. The possibilities of digital communication have during these past decades inspired a number of artists to extend their practice into new areas. The virtual world has become increasingly validated, challenging perceived notions and hierarchies and pushing working methodologies into new, often uncharted territories. Computers and mobile phones are now an almost inescapable part of modern living. It is perhaps therefore not surprising that the boundaries between technology and art seem increasingly fluid. Similarly, the delineations between disciplines are becoming more and more blurred as artists, not content to be straight-jacketed, move between static imagery, film, music, theatre, fashion, dance and installation. The art world and art audiences are adapting to these changes, and sometimes challenging conceptions, enabling a wider dissemination and greater understanding of the medium. The artists and works in this exhibition, Reflections, offer a sample of some of the ways in which this ‘new media’ is being used, and range from relatively straight forward digital photography to, for example, computer generated moving images. They embrace the medium as a tool and, like paint or clay traditionally, use it to shape their visions of reality.

Memo Akten explores the collisions between man and machine. Fascinated by trying to understand the world and human nature, he investigates technology’s role in learning more about ourselves, how we connect with each other, and our relationship with nature, science, culture and tradition. Combining conceptual work with investigations into form, movement and sound he works across many disciplines including video, sound, light, dance, software, online works and large-scale immersive installations and performances. With a fascination and profound appreciation for mystery and the complexities of the unknown,

Amanda Charchian produces images which are mystical, playful and sensual. She creates surreal and intimate landscapes to play out the recurring themes in her photographic work of nature and nudity, usually forming lasting and meaningful connections with the women she shoots.

Davy & Kristin McGuire create hybrid works with fragile materials that are momentarily brought to life through digital projections and silent storytelling. The pieces are magical glimpses into other worlds, often inspired by pre-cinema optical illusions, zoetropes or magic lanterns; they intrigue and mesmerise, drawing the viewer into a world where fantasy and reality become entwined. With titles such as Darwinian Lines Mirror, PomPom Mirror and Weave Mirror, Daniel Rozin creates works that have the unique ability to change and respond to the presence and perspective of the viewer. Often the viewer is represented in the content of the piece or invited to take an active role in the creation of the work. Where computers and software are used in Rozin’s work, they are seldom visible, and what the viewer experiences is usually a form of his or her own reflection, physically articulated and dramatically abstracted.

Margarida Sardinha creates work in the form of optical, abstract illusions. She is concerned with revealing underlying parallels between literature, religion and science, seeking out conscious ‘meaning’ through a process of photography, video and animation. The results are powerful and poetic.

Yuri Suzuki is a sound artist, designer, electronic musician and DJ who produces work that explores the realms of sound through exquisitely designed pieces. His work does not sit neatly within any one discipline, and has moved seamlessly between gallery, agency, stage and screen.

Neil McConnon Curator

Neil McConnon is Head of International Enterprises at Barbican Centre, London. He is responsible for conceiving and producing some of the most challenging and successful exhibitions in Barbican’s history, developing major projects that launch in the UK and tour internationally. He has worked with some of the world’s leading cultural organisations - collaborating as co-producers and partners. Previously, Neil worked as a practising artist, a freelance curator/consultant and at the ICA London. He has a BA Fine Art and Design (Central St Martins School of Art, London) and an MA Curating (Goldsmiths’ College, University of London).

MargariDa Sardinha

Margarida Sardinha is an artist and director born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1978. She studied Fine Art and Combined Media Studies at Central Saint Martins College of Art and at Chelsea College of Art and Design in London, where she lived and worked for ten years. Sardinhaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crossmedia practice includes site-specific installation, experimental film and animation, photography, video, sound and drawing, all geometric-kinetic and abstract in nature. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her directorial projects, including Best Experimental Film at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, Great Lakes Film Festival, Creative Arts Film Festival & Bridge Fest, Vancouver, Best Spiritual & Religious Film at the Directors Circle Film Festival, Best Cinematic Vision awarded by the London Film Awards, and an Honourable Mention at the 23rd New Orleans Film Festival; The Indie; The Accolade and the Rochester International Film Festival. Her visual work has been exhibited in major solo shows at the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon, the Ericeira Cultura Center, Portugal, and the Fernando Pessoa Museum, Lisbon.

Mirador de Lingaraja - La Relatividad de la Luz, 2014 Digital photograph, photograph paper, plexiglass 150 x 94 x 35 cm - 59 x 37 x 13.8 in. Edition of 10

Palacio del Partal - La Materia del Fuego, 2014 Digital photograph, photograph paper, plexiglass

Oratorio del Palacio del Partal - Multiverso de Sonido, 2014 Digital photograph, photograph paper, plexiglass

Pateo de los Leones - Consciencia del Tiempo, 2014 Digital photograph, photograph paper, plexiglass

150 x 94 x 35 cm - 59 x 37 x 13.8 in. Edition of 10

150 x 94 x 35 cm - 59.1 x 37 x 13.8 in. Edition of 10

Interior del Palacio de Comares - La Singularidad de la Lente, 2014 Digital photograph, photograph paper, plexiglass

Pateo de los Leones - Punto de Origen, 2014 Digital photograph, photograph paper, plexiglass

150 x 94 x 35 cm - 59 x 37 x 13.8 in. Edition of 10

Daniel Rozin

Daniel Rozin is an artist, educator, and developer who makes interactive installations and sculptures that have the unique ability to change and respond to the presence of a viewer. His «mirror works» respond in real-time to recreate a live visual representation of the viewer’s likeness, staging the audience as an active, creative, and integral part of his pieces. Past exhibitions of his work include the Reina Sofía National Museum, Madrid; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; The Garage CCC, Moscow; ICC, Tokyo; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Taiwan National Museum of Fine Art, Taipei; Barbican Centre, London; Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo; the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museums, Beijing; Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; and the Sundance Film Festival, among others. The recipient of numerous awards, including the Prix Ars Electronica, I.D. Design Review, Chrysler Design Award, and the Rothschild Prize, Rozin is an associate arts professor at ITP in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He earned a BD at the Jerusalem Bezalel Academy of Art and Design and an MPS from NYU. He lives and works in New York. Darwinian Rotating Lines Mirror, 2014 Video camera, custom software, computer, 46” screen

Darwinian Rotating Lines Mirror (2014) is the third piece in Daniel Rozin's series of Darwinian Software Mirrors. The behavior of the software is based on Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, by which organisms heritable traits change over successive generation, based on a given environment. In this piece, programmed “evolutionary pressure” pushes the artwork to resemble the viewer’s mirrored image. Interacting and responding to the presence

Dimensions variable, horizontal or vertical Edition of 6, 1 AP

of a viewer, each work varies in its formal properties of line, luminosity, and tempo, as screen-based pictures are built improvisationally.’

yuri suzuki

Yuri Suzuki is a sound artist and electronic musician who produces work that explores the realms of sound through exquisitely designed pieces. Suzuki was born in Tokyo in 1980. Between 1999 and 2005 he worked for the Japanese art unit Maywa Denki, where he developed a strong interest in music and technology. In 2005 he moved to London to study at the Royal College of Art, where he now teaches Design Interaction and Information Experience. Suzuki’s work raises questions on the relationship between sound and people and how music and sound affect people’s mind. His sound art pieces and installations have been shown in exhibitions all around the world including the Tate Gallery London, Mudam Luxembourg and Nam June Pike Art Centre. In 2014, the Museum of Modern Art, New York acquired his work OTOTO and Colour Chasers to their permanent collection.

Tube Map Radio The map is inspired by a spoof diagram created by the original designer of the London Tube map, Harry Beck, which Tube Map Radio, 2012 Annotated Electrical Circuit

shows the lines and stations as an annotated electrical circuit. Iconic landmarks on this map are represented by components relating to their functions, including a speaker where Speakers’ Corner sits and a battery representing

30 x 25 cm - 11.8 x 9.8 in. Edition of 50

Battersea Power Station. 20

ÂŠ Alice Masters

Sound of the Earth The grooves in Sound of the Earth represent the outlines of the geographic land mass. Each country on the disc is engraved with a different sound. As the needle moves across the sphere, it plays field recordings collected by the artist from around the world over the course of four years. Sound of the Waves Sound of the Waves is a simulation of sea wave patterns that picks up patterns from site specific beaches in the world and plays it back acoustically via the African Rainstick.

Sound of the Earth, 2009 - 2012 Spherical record project Film loop: 30 minutes Edition of 30

Sound of the Waves, 2015 Simulation sea wave patterns, picking up patterns from site-specific beaches in the world and playing them back acoustically via an African rain stick Sound loop: 30 minutes Edition of 30

Kristin and Davy McGuire

Davy & Kristin McGuire are the founders and designers of an award winning creative studio based in Bristol, UK. Creating hybrid installations and theatrical projects, the McGuires bring to life delicately hand-made settings through digital projections and storytelling. Their 2009 project The Icebook, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first projection mapped pop-up book, achieved enormous success both online and on tour. They are the recipients of The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2013 and the Helpmann Award for Best Visual Theatre Production 2015, and have exhibited, screened and published their works internationally. Kristin, a trained dancer with the Mark Bruce Company, has performed with international companies including Cirque du Soleil. Her husband Davy has a background in theatre and film.

Paper Noir - Laundromat, 2015 Paper model, sound and video, framed in a box 62 x 38 x 13 cm - 24.4 x 14.9 x 5.1 in. Edition of 5

Ophelia, 2015 62 x 32 x 24 cm - 24.4 x 12.5 x 9.4 in. Video sculpture, holographic projection, framed in cabinet Edition of 10

Jam Jar Fairy, 2015 47 x 33 x 33 cm - 18.5 x 13 x 13 in. Video sculpture, holographic projection of Kristen, filmed by Davy, framed in cabinet Edition of 25

Hitchcock - Birds, 2013 Paper Model, sound and video, framed in box

Hitchcock - Rear Window, 2013 Paper Model, sound and video, framed in box

54 x 65 x 47 cm - 21.2 x 25.5 x 18.5 in. Edition of 1

74 x 76 x 62 cm - 29.1 x 29.9 24.4 in. Edition of 1

Hitchcock - Psycho, 2013 Paper Model, sound and video, framed in box 66 x 69 x 53 cm - 26 x 27.2 x 20.8 in. Edition of 1

Memo Akten

Memo Akten is an artist from Istanbul, based in London, UK. He works with systems and algorithms; exploring the harmonies and tensions between nature, science, technology, culture and tradition. Combining conceptual work with investigations into form, movement and sound, he works across many disciplines including video, sound, light, dance, software, online works, installations and performances. His work has been exhibited worldwide, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Royal Opera House, London; Tate Britain, London; La GaĂŽtĂŠ lyrique, Paris; Holon Design Museum, Israel and the EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam, among many others. Alongside his practice, Akten is currently working towards a PhD at Goldsmiths University of London in artificial intelligence and expressive human-machine interaction.

Still from Equilibrium, 2014 Interactive touch-screen video installation, 1ch HD touch-screen LCD, custom software Variable dimensions (screen: 76.2 or 152.4 cm - 30 or 60 in.) Edition of 6 + 1AP

Installation of Equilibrium, 2014 Interactive touch-screen video installation 1ch HD touch-screen LCD, custom software Dimensions: variable (screen: 76.2 or 152.4 cm - 30 or 60 in.)

Installation of Equilibrium, 2014 Interactive touch-screen video installation

Gold, 2009 1ch HD LCD screen, infrared camera, custom software

1ch HD touch-screen LCD, custom software Dimensions: variable (screen: 76.2 or 152.4 cm - 30 or 60 in.)

Variable dimensions (screen: 107 or 228.6 cm - 42 or 90 in.) Edition of 6 + 1AP

Amanda Charchian

Amanda Charchian is a Los Angeles based fine artist and photographer born in 1988. She received her BFA from Otis College of Art and Design and has exhibited in numerous exhibitions worldwide. Bathed in saturated hues, Charchianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photographs present an exploration of the liberated female body. Charchian uses a distinct blend of grain texture, multiple exposure and light play to generate her captivating and surrealist works.

Antelope Canyon, 2014 C-Print photography 91.5 x 61 cm - 36 x 24 in. Edition of 10

India in Woodstock II, 2014 C-Print photography 61 x 91.5 cm - 24 x 36 in. Edition of 10

Ginger Entanglement, 2013 C-Print photography 76.2 x 76.2 cm - 30 x 30 in. Edition of 10

India in Woodstock, 2014 C-Print photography

Antelope Canyon, 2014 C-Print photography

91.5 x 61 cm - 36 x 24 in. Edition of 10

61 x 91.5 cm - 24 x 36 in. Edition of 10

Ginger Entanglement, 2013 C-Print photography 76.2 x 76.2 cm - 30 x 30 in. Edition of 10

Curator

Neil McConnon

Coordinators Author Designer Printers

Jean-David Malat, Marion Galan Alfonso, Gili Karev, Margaux De Pauw, Florie-Anne Mondoloni Gili Karev Willie Kaminski Typoform

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