Day 28: Smoke and mirrors (well smoke machines and lasers to be precise)

Despite having some grey moments, I still saw some really cool things yesterday. The weather was drizzly at first so I stayed inside in the morning. At midday I went to a presentation on technology and artist rights. It was a very well put together presentation and he drew some interesting parallels with different technological advances over the ages. But he didn't present an awful lot I wasn't already aware of and left a few things open ended. Curiously, he ended with a quote from Douglas Adams that went kind of like this:

Technology that exists when you are born is natural. Technology that comes along from birth until you're 35 is new and exciting. Technology that comes along after you're 35 is against the natural order of things.

It's an interesting quote and I think the principle can be applied to a few things. I know some people who appear to behave this way. But I know just as many people who don't.

First performance of the evening was Dean Blunt presents The Redeemer. I don't know much about Dean Blunt other than he is part of Hype Williams. The press indicated that this performance would be a departure from his usual work and it would be primarily a vocal/lyrical piece he wrote after the breakup of a relationship. The venue was a theatre in the old town. A couple from the UK sat beside me so I plucked the courage to chat with them a little. Before long the smoke machines had been engaged and the theatre was filled with a fog and the stage was darkly lit. It remained this way for most of the performance and he sang from the shadows on the stage. Musically I liked it. The music was very loud, which was great for the music but it did mean that I found most of the lyrics unintelligible. That was a shame.

Shortly afterwards there was another performance at a venue I hadn't been to yet. I gathered my bearings and worked out where I would have to go. It looked easy so I didn't take my phone or reading glasses. When I got to where I thought I needed to turn off, none of the street names were familiar and without my phone or glasses I struggled to work out where I was. I tried getting assistance from bystanders. A few didn't speak English. The two that did gave me completely contradictory directions and appeared to find it difficult to point out where we were on the map I had! By this time I was starting to feel really lost and worried that I would miss the first performance. Then, the last person I spoke to indicated that the venue was very close. I walked a very short way in the direction he pointed and there it was. It had been in sight all along! Doh!

After composing myself I settled in for the performances. The venue was a cinema with a massive screen and stage area in front. First was Dream Cargoes. I had attended the artist talk the previous day which helped. It was a visual project with live music being played on a combination of electronics and string quartet. The work was inspired by the story of the same name by J. G. Ballard. The artist talk allowed me to make some sense of the visuals but the ending came so abruptly I was a bit stumped. How did they get that out of what they explained the other day? Oh well, it was still great though.

Next up was a new work, Lumiere, by Robert Henke. I was really looking forward to this. This is what the program said:

Lumiere is a radical sonic experience with a massive yet ephemeral visual counterpoint. Two powerful lasers draw shapes and ultra short pulses of light, whilst an autonomous audio engine creates rhythmic structures, grids of bass and spectral noise.

It was exactly that. Amazing! Jaw droppingly intense and hypnotic. Words just can't describe any more. The man is a genius.

There was another club night at Hotel Forum but I had already decided not to go. I needed a reasonably early night and I'll go to the Saturday night one instead.

So now I knew where I was I took the time to casually walk back to the apartment through the old town which was heaving with activity on a Friday night.