EPIDERM V.2, Cycle 7

Artists

Monument-National

Skoltz_Kolgen (Epiderm V2) (CA)

Digital technologies ushered in a new era in human history. Nanotechnology, the science of the infinitesimal, promises to have an even greater impact. The nanotech revolution makes it possible for humans to manipulate molecular structures and individual atoms on a nanometric scale - that is, to within a millionth of a millimetre. Inspired by such technological advances, Epiderm explores that which is normally imperceptible. It is a nano-optical simulation that bridges the gap between the visible and invisible world. The performance explores a universe that expands inward, approaching extremes of reduction and complexity that are difficult to fathom.

Skoltz_Kolgen chose to interpret the dynamic of an infinitely small world in an idiosyncratic way. Their piece proposes an artistic approach that is both macrovisual and sensorial in nature. Its starting point is a virtual world-fiction that gently draws the spectator in. Starting at the surface of the skin, Epiderm delves inward to take the audience on a journey towards the infinitely small: familiar things such as hair and pores give way to cells, which in turn fade to reveal a foreign landscape of atoms. The nanoworld is a system composed of microparticles that interact with each another on a scale where all known reference points cease to be relevant.

Epiderm's visual nanoparticles are intimately linked to a soundscape of audio samples that stimulate their movement and orient their trajectories, establishing a sort of narrative. The generation of sounds was also directly inspired by nanotechnology. The Epiderm digital soundscape was created through a process known as granular synthesis, which entails using the smallest possible unit of sound, known as a grain - the equivalent of one second divided by 44,100. The order of the grains was then redistributed and reorganized in order to link sound units to the visual nanoparticles.

The Epiderm performance creates an immersive environment and is a vehicle for Skoltz_Kolgen's experimentations in the correlation between image and sound. The piece also questions the way audiences have traditional related to this sort of performance: spectators are invited to lie on their
backs, heads resting on cushions, from where they can contemplate the giant circular screen hanging from the ceiling. Spectators' horizontal positions and the 5.1 surround sound provide optimal
conditions for the perception of both sound and image, accentuating the force of attraction and repulsion among atoms and immersing users deep within the nanoworld. In this world of the infinitely small, if a human stood one nanometre tall, a red blood cell would appear to be 1,759 stories high.

World premiere at ELEKTRA, June 2004, Usine C , Montreal, Canada

Many thanks to the Conseil des Arts et lettres du Quebec and the Canada Art Council.

June 02, 2006
21:00 - 21:45

1182, Saint-Laurent Blvd Montreal, Canada
Monument-National

Tickets: $10.00 at the door + tx & sc