A collaborative multimedia installation/modern dance performance - world premiere at the Winchester Theatre, Toronto on March 16, 2006.

This performance explores the issue of gender inequality through one woman's journey to discover the place of the Equinox , where both genders exist in a perfect, delicate balance.

The piece employs randomly generated music and computer imagery which are created in real time in front of the audience. All elements in the performance -- even the ones highly improvised -- adhere to certain strict and pre-calculated processes to created a unified experience for the viewer. All these elements have the likelihood to be changed and influenced along the way thereby creating an indeterminate and improvised piece.

The soundtrack consists of several tracks which are played through the main stage speakers as well as portable speakers which the artist activates and positions around the audience during the performance. This process creates beautiful layered effect which surrounds the audience.

The visual elements of the performance are made up of three video projections. The initial projection is revealed and shown for the first 4 minutes of the dance:

The second projection is played from minidv tape and projected on the dancer as well as white fabric held by the Koken. It consists of random images representing various elements of the Japanese culture.

The final projection is generated live in front of the audience and projected through two glass jars. It represents spirit entities roaming freely in the spirit world.

Embracing Whispers evolved out of a series of reoccurring dreams. In these dreams, I find myself in a mysterious location where I can hear voices coming from certain objects. The voices are powerful and they resonate within my consciousness, yet their message and their meaning is thoroughly elusive. Embracing Whispers is my attempt to understand the meaning of this dream by recreating it in physical space.

With Embracing Whispers, I emulate the techniques of the Surrealists – taking familiar objects out of their usual context and placing them in foreign environments in which their placement ceases to make logical sense, but reveals some emotional truth and communicates something meaningful on a subliminal, instinctual level.

When confronted with this surreal arrangement of objects in space, the participants have two choices – either to ignore this assault on their subjectivity or to ‘embrace’ it, opening themselves up to a new perspective and a different reality.

The installation also consists of photographs of my sister, my grandmother and me. These pictures were hand processed; a procedure that involves washing each photograph with soap and water. For me, this is a highly symbolic ritual signifying the desire to preserve the past and regain lost innocence.

In this installation, a white door is suspended, separating three buckets from a large tree that is also suspended in mid air. The door symbolizes a physical separation of space as well as a point where one enters a new space. There are dirty footprints on the side of the door that faces the tree. This symbolizes the desire to bridge the barrier of time and to reconnect with my past by stepping through the door and emerging on the other side where the three buckets are.

The tree contains small speakers on its branches. When one gets close enough to the tree, one hears distorted voices from each of the buckets. The sound of the voices from the tree are truly haunting. [download mp3]

The final element of the installation is a fourth bucket that is situated on the ground with a light bulb suspended over it. The bucket is filled with water and upon closer examination one sees a dream journal submerged in the water. The water causes the ink of the journal to slowly fade away. The dream journal symbolizes our need to understand our dreams and to make sense of them. Thus we record them and try to analyze them. However, the submersion of the journal in water and the subsequent fading of its ink, symbolizes the elusive and mysterious nature of dreams.

Our dreams are part of a reality that we are not quite at home in, our subconscious minds, symbolized by the water. Our subconscious mind distorts reality, giving its contents a surreal quality just like water distorts our perception and makes things look surreal. We attempt to find meanings in our dreams, but those meanings are not very clear and are made murky by the water of our subconscious minds and its surreal quality.

 

Technology is commonly seen as enslaving humanity, but we can also use it to bring people together. Throughout the ages, people have gathered around a fire -- fire, in its most primal form, symbolizes life and entertainment. The enormous space where the installation takes place, the tactile quality of the flame, as well as the technology behind the project creates an interesting relationship between the natural element of the world and its technological counterpart.

A small candle is placed in front of a subwoofer. A camera is focused on the flame and the video image is displayed on a massive scale. A computer running a video conferencing application is connected to the subwoofer.

The audio signal is being received from Location 2 (London, UK) where a performer is playing African drums. The sound generated by the participants in Location 2 causes the flame to move to the rhythm. The movement of the flame is captured by a video camera, and is projected on a massive scale in a dark room as well as sent back over the network to the participating party where it is also projected.

Some believe that all people are part of one big soul and that all our desires, dreams and fears originate from the same point in the universe. If this is the case, why is there such a prevailing sense of differences between people of varying cultures, religions and races?

Some say that fear is an illusion. I say that meaning is an illusion in the sense that there is no such thing as objective meaning. All meaning that we attach to reality is subjective and thus illusionary. In other words, there is no inherent meaning embedded within reality all meaning we attach to reality is subjective. Therefore all our judgments, values and beliefs may be invalid.

The installation consists of drying laundry suspended on two wires. We see a variety of clothes representing the many faces of people one meets on a busy street. On one of the clothes, lies a projection of a person standing, with their back turned towards us: a female on one side, a male on the other. Upon touching the fabric, the projection of the person now turns to face us and we hear a random voice telling us about their fears.

The content for this installation is based on research I conducted where I asked a group of Canadians and Americans to share their fears. The installation explores the illusionary attribute of fear being the result of various subjective meanings we attach to reality.

 

A coffin-like box is constructed. The participant enters the box, the lid is closed and locked. The only source of light is a small monitor located above the participant's face. The participant's mobility is constrained, except for your speech which requires you to create a psycho-dynamic relationship with a digital entity.

The digital entity is represented by audio wave forms. The user communicates with this entity through a voice input device. Whatever the user says is translated into text values and sent into the VB module which contains the logic for computing their answer. Different answers lead to different audio responses, which the user can both hear and see in the form of sound waves.

The user has to understand the technology behind the entity, for example, the computer may not be able to properly recognize/translate specific words so in the end the user must focus on what general sounds or letters and vowels produce certain results, rather than solely the content of their answer. Upon successfully beating the computer, the casket unlocks and the user is set free, having the satisfaction of beating the machine!

The nature of this confrontation is one that requires the participant to understand that they are dealing with a machine that is confined by logic and rules and codes, set by its program. A video camera/web cam is also be used to monitor the participants reactions and fed into a monitor outside the box, for the public's amusement, as if the entity is putting the user out on display like an animal.

An experimental group installation involving a 16mm film projector, metal bowl and hand-processed B&W film.

 

A multimedia installation exploring da Vinci's theory of the four elements. A womb-like space was created with the use of white sheets. The sheets are touch sensitive and change still projections when touched.

The participant enters the 'womb' and explores the space which among still and video projections includes a real-time video processing projection that generates ultrasound-like images and sounds depending on the position and body movement of the participant within the piece.