In “VESSEL” the audience is invited into a space where the human bodies are translated into data, transformed and returned to the room in a new configuration.
In this space lies a living machine that, through microphones, infrared sensors and the computer, processes the present matter.
Here the echo and trail of bodies that pass by are manifested, conjuring a liminal zone. Entering this space is like accessing an interstitial and transitory space, the epicenter of a “spiritual circle”, where physical and immaterial transferences take place, possibly bringing us closer to a place of transcendence - to what is "beyond" the threshold of common physical perception.
This creation manifests a glance at the significance of accessing a sacred space, in which the cybernetic appartus enables the collective of humans here gathered to manifest and apprehend connections to what is beyond themselves.
Sound, light and human bodies are all inter-connected agents, dialoguing in a transmutative circle.
This process generates a data set, which represents the 3D positions of each body.This data is consumed by the computer, which redirects it to different systems responsible both for generating the visuals and modulating the sonic space.
The sound of the piece is all generated in real-time through the transmutation of the sounds being captured by the machine through the several microphones and signal conductors scattered in the room. These sounds are processed, mixed and modulated in real-time, through a dialogue between a human performer and semi-autonomous computational algorithms.
The spatial movement of the bodies also influences the movement of the sound, as this is ultimately modulated by the bio-data captured by the cameras.
Thus, the entire sound space is an echo resulting from a transmutation of sounds that operate in the physical reality that is presented.
Each visiting body is turned into a vector for generating matter - a member of this network that composes in real-time.
As soon as it enters the room, the body is instantly brought online - connected to this living machine and to the other bodies,
This project arises from the desire to amplify physical presences in space and to listen and visualize their trails.
These trails being manifested by an apparatus created with digital technology and signified by the flesh. At the core of the project is also this thought about accessing sacred spaces (exterior and interior to us) and how sound and visual technology can be used to enable processes of transfer and expansion of physical matter.
direction and concept | Filipe Baptista
activation agents | audience members, Ana Silva, Beatriz Almeida, Teresa Manjua
sound design | Filipe Baptista, L.I.M. (Limbed Interstitial Machine)
light design | João Pedro Fonseca
digital programming and architecture | Filipe Baptista
rehearsals assistance | Pedro Baptista and Carincur
co-production | YEP, a partnership between Rua das Gaivotas 6/Teatro Praga and O Espaço do Tempo
co-production residency | O Espaço do Tempo
residencies | Binaural/Nodar, Pro.Dança, Rua das Gaivotas6
supported by | DGArtes – Direção-Geral das Artes, SelfMistake, ZABRA, Rua das Gaivotas 6/Teatro Praga
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