In February, I held a short intensive series of studio sessions with artists I am currently collaborating with—Melbourne-based light artist, Matthew Adey, and Tainan (Taiwan) based sound artists, Alice Hui-Sheng Chang and Nigel Brown on a new work called Hundreds + Thousands.
Alice and Nigel were visiting Melbourne, so I grabbed the opportunity to invite them to work with Matt and myself at Temperance Hall.
Hundreds + Thousands is a new co-creation by myself and Singapore-based artist Daniel Kok.
For Hundreds + Thousands, Daniel and I are enlisting the participation of plants as artistic collaborators, fellow performers, audience members and social mediators.
We are working towards choreographing and composing an arrangement of 100 or more people and potted plants that co-inhabit the theatre (both seating and stage). Performing with and watching each other. Sensing and meditating collectively on the interdependence between ourselves and others, both human and non-human.We have been in artistic research and development for the work over the last two years. Encountering and working with people and plants across Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, China and Italy. This year we are entering the final stages of development and production and will soon premiere the work.
During our Temperance time, Alice, Nigel, Matt, myself and a group of plants spent time listening to each other, arranging and rearranging how we interact and share a space. We focused on how the plants may ‘perform’ and be an audience, and how our work of composing and arranging a choreography of attention, through balancing a sense of presence that is felt as well as seen.
We were joined for studio visits by Taichi practitioner, Su Rule, and dancer, photography and urban farmer, Gregory Lorenzutti, as well as their own plant-guests. Both responded to our work and shared their respective practices and ways of seeing the world and how they co-inhabit the world with plants.
Hundreds + Thousands will continue to grow over 2020 and when the time is right, will be in full bloom. Stay tuned.
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