Jean-Philippe Rameau
Les Indes Galantes

The first merit of this new production, streaming with intelligence, is that Laura Scozzi and Christophe Rousset have read Fuzelier’s verses deeply. And of Rameau, we must add, so much the composer, perpetually dissatisfied with his poets, harassed them word for word, when he did not take up the pen himself. In addition to lines which, like his contemporary Marivaux, seem to have been invented instantly, Fuzelier has built a dialectical finesse between peace and war, joy and hatred, pleasure and violence, the state of Nature and the state of society. The Gallant Indies according to Laura Scozzi are not a gigantic burst of joy. On the contrary, they reveal a perpetual and restless balance between shadow and light and are a look, less consensual but true and human, on the Age of Enlightenment. Here is a startling ideological reversal, without any forcing: Laura Scozzi has simply revealed the implicit nature of a libretto, so far read superficially.

Supernova
Supernova is an experimental 4K art film directed and designed by Maxim Zhestkov and made in Zhestkov. Studio Everything around and inside us was conceived in a huge explosion of a star billions of years ago… and, probably, recycled from other matrices myriad times. In this eternal carousel of matter, particles gather, form complicated structures and then burst into all directions fusing atoms together and producing new elements and points of view, new colours and patterns of perception.

Cellwise
Cellwise is a generative projection specifically designed for the city hall of The Hague. During the festival the city hall becomes the new habitat of a kind of ‘visual lifeform’. From the façade’s neatly arranged grid of white tiles, structures of a more entropic nature emerge. Shapes start growing, bursting, dripping, crawling and creeping. Cellwise is exploring the city hall’s sterile architecture, while at the same time challenging it to look for its visual counterpoints.

Samplingplong
File Festival

Randomly selected, acoustically usable finds (electronic junk, relays, plastic toys,compressed air valves, pneumatically operated components) are combined with cables and tubes. Via a device controlled by computer, they are turned into interactive instruments. An improvised ensemble evolves, from which – per mouse-over and mouse-click -short miniature compositions of dense rhythmic clicks, hisses, whirs, hums and crackles can be elicited. A tapestry of sound bursts forth from the floral-like web of cables and tubes. The installation can be used by the projected mouse-cursor: rolling over the improvised instruments causes small sound events. Activating the installation by rolling over its parts enables the user to play spontaneous improvisations. Clicking these objects starts short programs of loop-like compositions. Small “techno-compositions en miniature”, rhythmic patterns of analog (or real) sounds; a physical low-tech simulation of electronic, digital music, perhaps an ironic comment on interactivity.

Joshua Tree Residence

Whitaker has envisioned an “exoskeleton” made of shipping containers painted bright white. The containers appear like a starburst, with cuboid forms pushing out in all directions.The home is intended to offer a connection to the sun-baked landscape, while concurrently providing a sense of protection and privacy. Square windows frame views of the blue sky and rugged terrain. In some areas, faceted ceilings give the effect of being inside a crystalline form.

Star Ceiling
Expressing the vibrant dynamism of nature—from billowing cosmic clouds and swarming masses to radial bursts, spiraling vortices, and turbulent waves—Star Ceiling​ explores the tension between the rational and the transcendent, between the human and the non-human worlds. Villareal’s artwork gives life to inanimate matter through the invisible medium of code and induces a deep connectedness and rare experiential awareness.