sbot n wo -Sackville, New Brunswick
December 5 to December 13, 2008
PAVED Arts is pleased to present a new sound & media art installation created by the Sackville, New Brunswick collective Sbot N Wo. The installation will be located in the 2nd floor event space and will commence regular gallery hours beginning Friday December 5th. DisLocate-DisBody will culminate with an evening performance slated to begin at 7pm, Saturday December 13. Immediately following the performance the artists will be on hand for a public reception.
DisLocate-DisBody is an interactive audio, video installation that utilizes a web camera aimed from the ceiling upon an illuminated square of kitchen flooring within an otherwise dark space. A data projector projects the video image on a white square surface on the wall such that the beam crosses directly over the illuminated square on the floor. Eight photo cells are fixed to the projection surface on the wall and contact microphones are situated under the square of vinyl flooring. Entering the room, the viewer is drawn to enter the illuminated floor area, curious about the relationship between the two static white squares in the room. Upon entering the illuminated space the individual’s image appears on the wall from the perspective of the camera above. Simultaneously his or her shadow, cast across the projection surface, enters the frame from a different direction. The shadow and the video image, passing over the light sensors, triggers audio processing software, which is applied to samples both prerecorded and captured from the live situation. As the spectator struggles to coordinate the movements of these inverted images, and to initiate interesting sounds based upon the perceived cause and effect, a new kinetic world of connections is created. The free-standing, interactive installation will double as the site for a live performance. Sbot N Wo explores musical meaning by turning the voice inside out, upside down, and setting it on fire. From barely processed layers of unearthly vocal sound sources, to highly processed barrages of crunchy complexity, their work obliterates any notion of “mere singing.”
Sbot N Wo is a voice/electronics duo from Eastern Canada with roots in Saskatoon. Singer Helen Pridmore specializes in new music and extended vocal techniques. She has a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music, and is professor of voice at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick Canada. WL Altman is a composer and laptop performer. His written works are performed and commissioned by musicians across North America.
More information about Sbot N Wo is available at the web site http://www.sbotnwo.com/
