Presented as part of Sonica Glasgow 2019

Robbie Thomson & SUE ZUKI (UK) : Rottinghuis

A new collaboration between Glasgow-based artist-musicians Robbie Thomson and SUE ZUKI, Rottinghuis is a nightmarish creature-feature, an investigation into the dark side of the web, and an unnerving depiction of disintegration. An everyday living room is swallowed up by proliferating gaps in space, as though the code of the world is unravelling; a monstrous insect is glimpsed fleetingly, in flashes of light – is it inert or alive, hovering or scuttling directly towards the viewer? The ominous industrial-techno soundtrack uses samples taken from a livestreaming chatroom whose content, like the audio the artists make from it, is as compelling as it is disturbing. 

Developed at a Grand Theatre Groningen Residency
Supported by: The Hugh Fraser Foundation

Push 1 stop and Wiklow (QC/CA) : Membrane

As we spend ever more of our time in virtual spaces, from social media to VR gaming, Québecois artists Push 1 stop and Wicklow seek to reverse the trend, realising virtual environments in the physical world. Through a smoky, semi-opaque haze, and to a pounding techno accompaniment, the audience will see three-dimensional shapes sculpted in light appear and change, their mutations and transformations influenced in real time by the artists as they interact through rehearsed actions and improvisation. Membrane suggests an alternative to the use of pre-programmed visuals to accompany live electronica, and proposes a more responsive, dynamic visual element for performance.

Supported by: Québec Government Office, London