Spectral:
Live
Presented by Arts House with Liquid Architecture
Featuring
SEER by House of Vnholy
AGENESIS by Robert Curgenven and Kat McDowall
Sui Zhen + band
Arts House
North Melbourne Town Hall
521 Queensberry St,
North Melbourne
Update 20 March 2020:
Due to current circumstances, Arts House’s presentation of Spectral: Live has been cancelled. Ticket holders will be contacted directly to arrange a refund.
For further information or enquiries, please contact Arts House on 03 9326 3720.
Read a statement by Arts House’s Artistic Director Emily Sexton here.
From immersive interruptions that capture the mind, to synaesthetic voyages beyond the boundaries of the body, Spectral: Live takes you into the spaces between sound and light. With a night of performances from local and international artists, this gig was the sold-out hit of last year’s Arts House calendar: this year’s edition won’t be quickly forgotten.
House of Vnholy will be no stranger to those with an interest in the cutting edge of experimental performance, and for Spectral: Live the pioneering outfit presents SEER. A visually stunning and haunting performance of the afterlife, SEER is a poetic meditation on the rituals of death and dying. House of Vnholy’s trademark sculptural light and video installation are accompanied by a sound composition by 2019 Spectral artist Jannah Quill and the haunting live soprano voice of Judith Dodsworth for a one-off experience of epic spectacle.
Bridging the gulf between the aural, visual and physical, Robert Curgenven and Kat McDowall’s new sound and light work AGENESIS explores our embodied response to sound.
Robert’s works and installations have graced esteemed venues across the globe, from the National Gallery of Australia to Palazzo Grassi in Venice. The Ireland-based, Australian-born artist has performed at festivals in Berlin, Amsterdam, Budapest and beyond. His live performances explore sound’s relationship to architectural contexts, weather and the physical transmission of sound through air.
Joining the line-up is Melbourne-based experimental pop and performance artist Sui Zhen, whose performance possesses a surreal, electronic sound with a dreamlike quality, often described as vivid and ethereal. Drawing on influences as broad as Sade, early 80s electronic music to bossa nova and synth, Zhen’s work explores themes of identity, avatars, digital life and the virtual.
Presented by Arts House with Liquid Architecture
Featuring
SEER by House of Vnholy
AGENESIS by Robert Curgenven and Kat McDowall
Sui Zhen + band
Arts House
North Melbourne Town Hall
521 Queensberry St,
North Melbourne
AGENESIS
Created by Robert Curgenven and Kat McDowall
SEER
Created by House of Vnholy
Conceived, designed and directed Matthew Adey and Andre Vanderwert
Sound Jannah Quill
Soprano Performance Judith Dodsworth
Costume Benjamin Hancock
Spectral: Live is part of Spectral: a series of installations and performances that dive into the spaces between sound and light. From immersive interruptions that capture the mind, to synaesthetic voyages beyond the boundaries of the body, these works demand to be experienced.
Supported by – the City of Melbourne through Arts House
SEER was previously a performance installation for one person at a time that premiered at the 2018 Next Wave Festival. Co-commissioned by Next Wave and Darebin Arts, SEER opened to a sold out season in the theatre at Darebin Arts Centre.
Image by – Video capture from SEER footage by Arlo Dean Cook