HAYART CENTRE
ՀայԱրտ կենտրոն
November 16—December 1, 2024
7a Mashtots Ave.
Yerevan, Armenia
Mon–Sun: 11:00 – 19:00
2000 AMD
Opening Night—Nov 16, 6 PM
նոյեմբերի 16 — դեկտեմբերի 1, 2024 թ
Մաշտոց պող. 7ա
Երկ – Կիր: 11:00 – 19:00
2000 AMD
Ցուցահանդեսի բացում- նոյեմբերի 16-ին ժամը 18:00-ին
hayartcultural.com
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CYFEST: Archive of Feelings. A Journey is an expansive audit of relationships between the intimate realm of emotions and memories and technological advancement. How do new technologies shape, mediate, and «archive» emotions? In what ways does technology influence our emotional experience and the way it is expressed and remembered? Can we work with technologies within larger artistic, social, and cultural frameworks? And how can contemporary art and culture contribute to a more diverse future and environments that are neither technocratically mastered nor reductionistic? Through the contribution of internationally renowned artists, curators, and theorists, CYFEST 16 will address these questions from various angles while transforming them into installations, multimedia objects, performances, video, concerts, educational events, and a new, intriguing visitors’ experience.
The main projects of the festival will be held at several prominent cultural venues in Yerevan, including the HayArt Centre and the Yerevan Botanical Garden. Both exhibitions will explore the contradictions and connections between personal memories and technology. They will delve into the space where we recognize our responsibility to human nature and demonstrate how art and culture can help shape our future while preserving our essential emotions and feelings.
Artists
Jama Adilov, Maria Arendt, AUDINT, Liudmila Belova, CYLAND Audio Archive, Alexandra Dementieva, Anna Frants, Anna Frants & Elena Gubanova, Wei Gao, Styopa Grigoryan, Elena Gubanova & Ivan Govorkov, Gysin–Vanetti, G.H. Hovagimyan, Regina Hübner, Heejeong Jeong, Anna Kim, Jeong Han Kim, Kira Kim, YeSeung Lee, Lev Manovich, Tigran Martirosyan, Tuan Mu, Mariam Papoyan, Roberto Pugliese, Raphaele Shirley, Studio MBUS703 (Chiwook Nho), TELLUS, the Audio Cassette Magazine, Alain Thibault, Eric Vernhes, Mathieu Zurstrassen
CYFEST: Զգացմունքների շտեմարան: Ճամփորդություն։ Ճամփորդությունը զգացմունքների և հիշողությունների ինտիմ ոլորտի և տեխնոլոգիական առաջընթացի փոխհարաբերությունների լայնածավալ ուսումնասիրություն է։ Ինչպե՞ս են նոր տեխնոլոգիաները ձևավորում, միջնորդում և «արխիվացնում» զգացմունքները: Ինչպե՞ս է տեխնոլոգիան ազդում մեր զգացմունքային փորձառության վրա, այն ինչպես է արտահայտվում և հիշվում: Կարո՞ղ ենք աշխատել տեխնոլոգիաների հետ ավելի լայն՝ արվեստի, հասարակության և մշակույթի շրջանակներում: Իսկ ինչպե՞ս կարող են ժամանակակից արվեստն ու մշակույթն աջակցել ավելի բազմազան ապագային և միջավայրերին, որոնք ոչ տեխնոկրատորեն կկառավարվեն, և ոչ էլ ընդհանրական կլինեն: Միջազգային ճանաչում ունեցող արվեստագետների, կուրատորների և տեսաբանների մասնակցությամբ CYFEST 16-ը տարբեր տեսանկյուններից կանդրադառնա այս հարցերին՝ դրանք վերածելով ինստալացիաների, բազմամիջնոց օբյեկտների, փերֆորմանսների, վիդեոների, համերգների, կրթական միջոցառումների՝ այցելուների համար վերածվելով նոր, հետաքրքրաշարժ փորձառությունների:
Փառատոնի հիմնական նախագծերը կանցկացվեն Երևանի մի քանի կարևոր մշակութային վայրերում, այդ թվում՝ ՀայԱրտ կենտրոնում և Երևանի բուսաբանական այգում։ Երկու ցուցահանդեսներն էլ կուսումնասիրեն անձնական հիշողությունների և տեխնոլոգիաների միջև հակասություններն ու կապերը։ Նրանք կխորանան այն տարածության մեջ, որտեղ մենք գիտակցում ենք մեր պատասխանատվությունը մարդկային բնության հանդեպ և ցույց կտան, թե ինչպես արվեստն ու մշակույթը կարող են օգնել ձևավորելու մեր ապագան՝ պահպանելով մեր էական հույզերն ու զգացմունքները:
Արվեստագետներ՝
Ջամա Ադիլով, Մարիա Արենդտ, AUDINT, Լյուդմիլա Բելովա, CAA (CYLAND Audio Archive), Ալեքսանդրա Դեմենտիևա, Աննա Ֆրանց, Վեյ Գաո, Ստյոպա Գրիգորյան, Ելենա Գուբանովա և Իվան Գովորկով, Գիզին–Վանետտի, Գիզին–Վանետտի, Ջ.Հ. Հովագիմեան, Ռեգինա Հյուբներ, Հիջեոն Ջեոնգ, Կայ Լաբ, Աննա Քիմ, Ջեոնգ Հան Քիմ, Կիրա Քիմ, Յեսեուն Լի, Լև Մանովիչ, Տիգրան Մարտիրոսյան, Տուան Մու, Մարիամ Պապոյան, Ռոբերտո Պուգլիեզե, Ռաֆայել Շիրլի, Studio MBUS703 (Չիվուկ Նհո), TELLUS, the Audio Cassette Magazine, Ալեն Տիբո, Էրիկ Վերնհես, Մաթյե Զուրստրասեն։
Jama Adilov
Tired Father, 2007. Oil on fiberboard, 80×80.7 cm
Lovers, 2015. Oil on canvas, 70×100 cm
Mother Nature, 2010. Oil on canvas, 54.5×37.5 cm
Doubts, 2014. Oil on canvas, 57.5×40 cm
No Doubts, 2014. Oil on canvas, 57.5×40 cm
A strong empathy with the viewer is a prominent feature of Jama's research. His artistic images are expressive and clear — anthropomorphic masks and zoomorphic figures, reflecting anxiety and frustration, with grotesque expressions that have a strong ironic and sarcastic component. But is it really that simple? In this case, empathy is a tool for emotional engagement. When we interact with these paintings we turn first to ourselves — this inner exploration becomes the primary focus of our reflection on the work. What does it mean today to deal with the daily fatigue and routine of habits and relationships? How do we cope with fear and doubt? After all, we live in a world of uncertainty, built on unstable foundations and mediated by confusing visions of the future.
The paintings present a face or bust in a static expression, such as that of Mother Nature, but actually reflect an internal emotional dynamic, such as the dreamy and tired father struggling with the little daily nightmares of parenthood. In the diptych Doubts — No doubts, the protagonist is a rabbit, similar to the anxious Lovers wrestling with his shadow (or shadows) in a manner reminiscent of Faust. Here, the dynamic of waking life is disturbed, as the protagonist's fixity corresponds to the intense dynamism of his shadow, making it impossible for him to perceive and control reality objectively. The new works, small sculptures made of glue and wood, have a cheerful vibrancy, while the distorted faces on the narrow acrylic panels of 2021 might be seen as a fitting companion to Paolo Mantegazza's Atlas of Expressions of Pain (1876). This is not in the context of physical pain, but rather as a sign of the anxiety and fear that Jama captures in people struggling with a pandemic. — Silvia Burini
Maria Arendt
Seeing Sounds, Tasting Lights
installation, 2017–2024
embroidery on polka dots fabric, video
Co-author of the text: Alexander Sokolov, artist
Text editing, co-author: Microsoft copilot AI
In front of you is an embroidered labyrinth. Behind each door is a room with several doors. Each of these doors leads to another door, and so on, like Borges' Library of Babel. This work emphasizes how one’s choice is not only a physical action but a journey inside ourselves, where every feeling and memory has value. As you move through the labyrinth, you can choose your own path to experience various emotions.
Synesthesia reveals an unusual property of the human mind: the ability to combine different types of perception into unique sensory experiences. People with synesthesia can see music as a kaleidoscope of colours or taste words as they are spoken. This phenomenon allows a new way of looking at the ordinary and reveals the deeper layers of human perception.
Video pieces — “texture” is a metaphor for the diversity of emotions and memories blending into a whole. Each ingredient of “texture” brings a unique flavour, just as each event or experience leaves its mark on our inner world. We repeatedly relive moments of the past, integrating them with current feelings, which allows us to constantly renew and enrich our lives. Every memory and experience stored in our internal repository shapes our unique history, personality, and worldview.
AUDINT [Pronunciation – Ordint]
Cicada Sound System
sound Installation, 2024
AUDINT’s sound installation Cicada Sound System explores the waveformed fears and anxieties surrounding Havana Syndrome — a series of “anomalous health incidents” in US embassies that started in Cuba in 2016 which subsequently occurred in India, China, and Europe. Many of the embassy staff have reported suffering chronic symptoms such as issues with balance and cognition, insomnia, and headaches. The causes of the syndrome are still unknown but that has not stopped a plethora of explanations being forwarded, ranging from ultrasonic and microwave weapons to mass hysteria to cicadas. Many of the rationales presented by scientists, political theorists and politicians have attributed the medical conditions to insidious covert activities carried out by unidentified foreign actors.
Liudmila Belova
Archive
sound installation, 2003–2015
6 boxes, peepholes, audio players, headphones, photographs
Supported by CYLAND Media Art Lab
By peering into a peephole and listening to distant sounds, we inadvertently recreate the reality in our memory, balancing on the verge of presence and absence, visible and invisible. The image is here and, at the same time, it greets us from some distance — as the sound of ocean contained in a seashell.
The opacity of a visual picture — here a black and white photograph, altered by the optics of the peephole and as if “enlivened”, and the vagueness of sounds presumes that the spectator would involve his own archives and drag up his own feelings and associations from the nooks and crannies of his memory. And the less real and “anecdotal” the story about the reality is, the more plausible it sounds.
In Belova’s Archive, the memory of the body is evoked through sound. Here, the artist invites each visitor to peer through peepholes in uniform wooden boxes and discover found photographs of entry halls leading into old Saint Petersburg buildings. Each box is equipped with a set of headphones, connecting the viewer with the sounds of life in each of the represented buildings — the casual hum of music, the quick fall of steps, fragments of conversations, the slow drip of water through aging pipes. The physical infrastructure of the box creates an infinite distance between the viewer and the viewed — audio-technology becomes the primary tool that bridges this gap, connecting the vision to the body and creating a nostalgic reminder of a particular time and place.
CYLAND Audio Archive (CAA)
Selection of records from CAA, 2013 — ongoing
8 directional speakers
The CYLAND Audio Archive (CAA) is a division of CYLAND MediaArtLab, created to investigate archiving and exhibiting methodologies of sound art. This archive is a continuous process of working on a structure of various subgenres of sound art, making compilations, and cataloging the growing archive. To date, there are 58 releases, including works by more than 80 artists from every continent except Antarctica. All the records are available for listening on cyland.bandcamp.com. Each release presented is a stand-alone piece accompanied by an artist statement.
Eight directional speakers distributed evenly in a hall will play eight carefully selected CAA releases in a loop. These sound spots inevitably overlap, turning into a constant humming, all while sharing one space. Source material for artists varies from existing records — personal or found — filed records, machine signals, or sounds extracted from revitalised devices, which were initially completely strange to sound creation in the first place and turned into sound machines. All of them are reflected and conceptualised by artists, collected together into a contradictory and rich picture of sound to memorise and fix the experience of being present in the world. Where sound — recognised or completely strange — will escape being fully possessed but remains an environment shared by people who heard it together. That is how memories form, building blocks for infinite variations of archives. — Sergei Komarov and Lidiia Griaznova
Selection of Records for CYFEST 16 in Yerevan:
Alexandra Dementieva
Memory’s Chopper
interactive object, 2024
3D modelling, 3D printing, welding, laser cutting; Arduino; paper shredder, plexiglass, steel, fan, paper
Engineers: Alexey Grachev, Denis Markov
Supported by CYLAND Media Art Lab
Imagine our psyche as a delicate sheet of paper, passed through the shredder of time and experience. Each event leaves its mark, tearing our sense of self into countless pieces. Then, like a gust of wind from a fan, our memories are swept up and swirled around, mixing and mingling until they become almost unrecognizable. As we attempt to retrieve these fragmented memories, we may find that only snippets remain intact. Perhaps it's the warmth of a sunny afternoon, the sound of laughter in the air, or the sting of a painful loss. These “extraits” serve as glimpses into the past, offering tantalizing hints of the emotions we once felt.
But as time marches on, even these fragments can become blurred and distorted. Like a tornado gathering strength, our memories twist and turn, reshaping themselves with each passing day. What was once crystal clear may now be muddled and indistinct, clouded by the passage of time and the haze of our own perceptions.
Despite the inevitable erosion of memory, there is a beauty in the chaos of our archive of feelings. It is a testament to the richness of human experience, the complexity of emotion, and the resilience of the human spirit. Our memories may be imperfect, but they are uniquely ours, shaped by the ebb and flow of life itself. So, as we navigate the labyrinth of our memories, let us embrace the fragments, the whirlwinds, and the tornadoes. For within their swirling depths lies the essence of who we are, a kaleidoscope of feelings and impressions that make us truly human.
Anna Frants
To Make a Long Story Short
From Series "Simple Joys"
installation, 2024
kineographs, robotics, mixed media
Engineers: Philipp Avetisov, Eugene Pavlov, Eugene Ovsyannikov, Dmitry Shirokov
Supported by CYLAND MediaArtLab
30 years ago, when I just came to the United States, one of my first jobs was at a photographic store. Among the services offered, there were development of B/W films copying and retouching of old photographs. During several years of work, hundreds of images passed through my hands and, whether you like it or not, what you saw becomes a part of you.
I came upon images from various times: 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Mainly, those were individual, family and group photographs, portraits of the military and pictures from the Victorian Age when photographs were done with the deceased family members in them.
There were some curious incidents: once I was handed an envelope with photographs that contained a note: “Be careful. The photos are really old; they date back to 1715.” (Daguerreotype, by the way, was invented in 1839).
Those images stuck in my memory. What astounded me was the fact that practically all the images were alike. It is interesting that, despite the geographic origins of those who were depicted on a photograph, it was impossible to determine where they were from (unless the architecture got captured in a frame). It was impossible to figure out whether they were immigrants from Armenia, Russia, Sweden, Italy or Ireland. It was also impossible to determine on the photographs from different countries where they were taken at the time.
Scientists claim that if the brain saw something, it would stay with it for the rest of one's life. However, the fore-conscious* plays its role as well…
* Fore-Conscious is a term that indicates the perceptions, thoughts and memories that, while not being part of our current conscious experience, are still remain available for comprehension.
Anna Frants & Elena Gubanova
Weather Forecast — WINTER/SUMMER
installation, 2013
video [00:09:53, color, loop]
projector, LED light, industrial fan, AC dimmer, speaker; buffalo snow, threads
Engineer: Alexey Grachev
Supported by CYLAND Media Art Lab
What were you doing in the winter of 1980? And in the summer? And what made the winter of 2009 memorable for you?
What image will first come to mind late in life if you are to close your eyes? The project Weather Forecast — WINTER/SUMMER is an attempt by the artists to reflect on the paradox of time that is slow and, at the same time, transient. Winter….summer…..winter….summer….
Wei Gao
Flower Tunnel
video installation, 2022
Director: Gao Wei
Film/Editor: Gao Wei
Sound: Shepard tone
The train moves fast through the tunnel while roaming inside one flower after another. The film combines the footage of the subway tunnels and the still photographs of flowers, allowing them to interact. Watching this film is like embarking on a psychedelic cosmic journey. In fast motion, particles of various colors rush towards the viewer. The screen is like a black hole, as if there is a gravity sucking the audience into the tunnel. The audience seems to experience passing through clusters of colorful nebulae, and also like crossing through a microscopic world. The flowers in the background are from still images made by the director. The sound of Flower Tunnel uses Shepard tone, to make an unworldly effect of perpetual motion.
Styopa Grigoryan
Ring of Death
installation, 2024
metal, wax, ants, epoxide, plexiglass, hourglass
The Ring of Death represents an effort to make participants experience life cycle transformations through an installation. It is a large carousel-like wheel featuring intricate inner mechanisms, reflective surfaces, epoxy layers, melting wax figures, and living ants that will gradually utilize these elements over time. At the center of the wheel lies an hourglass, symbolizing the passage of time, while the art object itself is a manually operated rotating structure. The fast rotation stirs up memories, mixing the vibrant childhood experiences and the fleeting nature of human life. Among the insects that form the core of my art, ants are the most prevalent, representing the significance of the animal kingdom and nature. These creatures act as nature’s custodians, symbolically transforming the human body over time. — Styopa Grigoryan
Elena Gubanova & Ivan Govorkov
Stardust
installation, 2024
video [00:00:30, b/w, sound, loop], 6 screens, servomotor, heavyweight wool coat, hanger, carpet beater
Engineers: Alexey Grachev, Denis Markov
Video engineer: Anton Khlabov
Supported by CYLAND MediaArtLab
A man's life is but a moment in infinity — like dust floating in the stream of time. Turning to our memories, we seem to beat them out of ourselves like an old dusty coat, sometimes admiring their brightness, sometimes choking on their suffocating corrosiveness.
Each of us comes into this world following our unique path, but in the end, we all return to our starting point — stardust. Understanding this, we can feel the vulnerability and significance of our existence. We are made of dust, but we are also a part of the dust of stars, of which we remain a part forever.
Gysin–Vanetti
Linea (Line)
installation with 10 LED matrices, 2019
LED Matrices (10 elements), custom electronics and software
Concept and programming: Andreas Gysin and Sidi Vanetti
Hardware engineering: Khalil Kababe
Ten synchronised algorithmic animations, each running on an industrial LED matrix driven by the code residing on a custom controller. Each animation originates from — and reduces to — a line.
G.H. Hovagimyan
See/Saw
interactive sound/video installation, 2010
Max/MSP; seesaw, Mac mini, projector, sound system, Arduino, IR sensor
Coding assistance: Julio Terra, Alexey Grachev, Sergei Komarov
See / Saw is an interactive movie. Viewers sit on a seesaw and use it to control movie scenes projected on a wall. This is accomplished by sensors attached to the seesaw that send signals to a computer. The computer selects scenes from the movie, Two For The Seesaw (director Robert Wise, 1962) and project two separate scenes one above another onto a wall. As the seesaw moves from one side to the other the scenes correspondingly turn off and on.
Regina Hübner
loving
site-specific single-channel video installation, environment, participative act, 2016–2024
video [00:07:24, HD, colour], ambient sound, real time
projector, sound system, desk, chair, lamp, sheets of paper and pen
The Austrian Embassy in Tbilisi supported the publication of Gabriel Soucheyre's art-critical text Take Me to The Moon (I'll see who I am) in Armenian and German for the CYFEST 16 exhibition.
On a special day, I was sitting on my terrace in Rome when I noticed the half-moon in a rare vertical position. I observed the moon’s slow crossing over what seemed to me “my sky,” and I started to think about love and time. In my eyes, that image was dramatically beautiful. It was that, what “love” meant for me at that very moment: It is slow, and it seems long. It is short. The artistic output from this experience is a video, which I call loving. — Regina Hübner
The visitors are invited to engage with “loving” by writing a love letter and placing it in the drawer.
Heejeong Jeong
Sweet home
video installation, 2021
Created by Heejeong Jeong
Video, Graphic, Editing: Heejeong Jeong
SoundHyunTae Lee
In the 1960s, Korea began to build apartments as part of an economic development policy that came with the rise of an authoritarian government. Mountains and rivers were covered, and the entire country became the same residential space. The apartments that have become Korea’s representative residential space today are not simply homes, but the inevitable pinnacle of economic and cultural desires.
The panorama, which is a collage of photographs, shows the abandoned and alienated landscapes of the outskirts during this process. Like an inverted glove, the back of the place where the outside is projected upside down reveals the flow of desire and aspiration for a home. Will she, who spent her childhood in a house with a yard before the development boom, be able to realize her lifelong dream of a small garden where she can grow her own food?
Lev Manovich
Bookshelves, pictures, fragments
digital images created with generative AI (Midjourney), edited in Lightroom, and upscaled with Gigapixel AI, 2022
We see young people talking, smoking, contemplating — but what interests me are the interior spaces they inhabit, and the accumulation of objects and details in these spaces. Objects are placed on wall-size shelves, coffee tables, sofas, and other surfaces. In some cases, we can easily identify these objects, but in others, they are harder to identify. Some look like fragments, traces, and shadows of the objects that are gone. These “fragments” evoke ancient museum artifacts, but their nature is fundamentally different. While archaeological remnants are tangible pieces of past civilizations, AI-generated fragments have a distinct ontology. They emerge from AI models processing millions of images, distributing patterns across trillions of connections. This process further virtualizes and diffuses digital materiality. The accumulations of objects, shadows, and traces in these images serve as a metaphor for the generative AI process. — Lev Manovich
Lev Manovich
In the Garden
digital images created with generative AI (Midjourney), edited in Lightroom, and upscaled with Gigapixel AI, 2023
Formal French gardens and 17th-century and 18th-century architecture and ornament inspired this series. Using AI capabilities to simulate the appearance of many artistic media, I chose the look of old engravings and etchings. The reference to this medium in my prompts influenced the subjects depicted in the generated images. AI mimics the visual style of these techniques and incorporates their fundamental element — lines — into the scenes themselves: curvy lines form plants, straight lines create poles, and diagonal lines become wires stretched between them. The series also uses the specific artifacts of the AI “zoom out” command: symmetries and repetitions of compositional elements. This seemed appropriate given the topic of formal gardens. In some images, elaborate frames nested inside other frames have enclosed the initial world. — Lev Manovich
Tigran Martirosyan
SR
installation, 2024
barbed wire, armature, paints, welding
This piece explores how SPAM, a byproduct of modern information technology, hinders creators from preserving their professional memories. For instance, if an art critic shares a link to their review via email and posts it on Facebook to archive their work online, opponents can file a SPAM defamation complaint with Facebook’s administration. As a result, Facebook may remove the content across the entire META platform, and even the email associated with that link could be blocked on Instagram's messaging system. This is an anti-democratic process, a form of exile for unique cultural information. It can be seen as an online parallel to the repressions of 1937 in the Soviet Union. Modern technology, with its anti-humanist logic, method, and style, works against the preservation of creative memory. In response, this piece — a wristwatch — symbolizes the moment of “ONLINE REPRESSION,” marking the time as 19:37, reflecting this digital suppression of expression.
Mariam Papoyan
Synthetic Memories
installation, 2024
Steel tears in a virtual ocean
No salt in their flavor, no connection at all.
These are the digital traces that accumulate in our devices over time, like clutter. Due to its sheer presence and overwhelming volume, unfiltered data encourages false confidence and promotes a false sense of security. We are less inclined to be deliberate or selective in shaping our emotional landscape or organizing our thoughts. Unless you consciously filter emotions yourself, technology eclipses the intimacy of emotion, stripping it of its sacredness.
Through artificial intelligence-driven filtering, synthetic, rendered memories crystallize into the metal-coated spheres. These spheres are submerged and suspended in a digital sea of black oil — amorphous and insulating, which shifts from liquid to solid yet retains distinct physical properties. This technocratic realm is both captivating and unsettling. The genuine selection of human memories is tied to intangible sensations like smell or taste. No matter how richly they’re described verbally or visually, the genuine emotional triggers of real memories can’t be replicated artificially. Instead, what forms is a new illusion, a kind of "sub-personality" with its alien inner world — an entity separate from our authentic self.
Roberto Pugliese
Fluide propagazioni alchiliche 2023
sound installation, 2023
glass, liquids, waterproof speakers, iron, ABS 3D print, audio system
In a room, there are several different chemical glass ampoules. The ampoules are filled with different liquid compounds and colors. Within each vessel, there is a waterproof speaker. The played audio is digitally processed and mixed with synthetic sounds, organized in a composition. The composition is realized by exploiting the different sound propagation relative to the liquid in each ampoule and according to the wavelength (frequency) of the color inside the ampoule. The perceived timbre effect is therefore dictated by the different “composition” of the fluids which have the function of sound filters. This installation is an alchemical composition, a dialogue between contemporary composition and physical principles.
Raphaele Shirley
Syntropy (a state of being)
an immersive light and sound installation, 2024
programmable LED strips, aluminium supports, Arduinos, speakers
Visuals by Raphaele Shirley
Sound composition by Rhys Chatham
Syntropy (a state of being), a new site-specific work by Raphaele Shirley with sound composition by Rhys Chatham, juxtaposes experiences of ascension through the integration of light, sound, and architecture within the HayArt Centre entrance. The transposition of Chatham’s Crimson Grail Part 1 (recorded in the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris) with the ephemeral light and color space formed within the gallery invites reflection on human expansion. It evokes the sense of ascension traditionally sought in sacred spaces while making such experiences accessible beyond their confines. “Syntropy” refers to systems evolving toward complexity, order, and harmony — contrasting with entropy, or decay. Shirley’s work balances aesthetics and structure, offering a meditation on how systems — whether biological, social, or artistic — move toward functionality and beauty.
TELLUS, the Audio Cassette Series #1 – #26
3 audio players, 26 audio cassettes, 1983–1996
TELLUS is a Harvestworks program created in 1983 at the Rum Runner Bar on Canal Street in New York City. Joseph Nechvatal, a visual artist, Claudia Gould, a curator, and Carol Parkinson, a composer and staff member of Harvestworks/Studio PASS met to discuss the idea of a magazine on cassette that would feature interesting and challenging sound works. With the advent of the Walkman and the Boom Box, the editors perceived a need for an alternative to radio programming and the commercially available recordings on the market at that time.
As a team, they then began to collect, produce, document, and define the art of audio by publishing works by local, national, and international artists. They worked with contributing editors and experts in their fields, who proposed themes and collected the best works from that genre. Unknown artists were teamed with well-known artists, and historical works were juxtaposed with contemporary and high art with popular art, all to enhance the crossover communication between the different mediums of art — visual, music, performance, and spoken word.
On CYFEST 16, we feature 26 releases on the cassettes, acknowledging this medium, which was revitalised recently by the broad public and has a consistent interest from enthusiasts of sound as a perfect medium for durational uninterrupted anti-streaming medium today.
Alain Thibault
Apollo 11 Dream
video installation, 2023 (rev. 2024)
video [00:18:10, color, stereo sound, HD 1920x1080 px, single screen version]
video part: Stability AI, Runway, Premiere Pro, ebosuite 2 (in Ableton Live); audio part: Ableton Live 11, Synthetic voices; Analog (+ modular) and digital (Soft) synthesizers and processing; HD video projector, stereo sound with subwoofer
Supported by Canadian Cultural Center and Nemo Biennale, Paris (France), ELEKTRA Montreal and CALQ (Quebec, Canada)
Commissioned by the Canadian Cultural Center Paris, Premiered at Némo — International Biennial of Digital Arts of the Île-de-France Region, France, 2023
Inspired by Yukio Mishima's Five Modern Noh Plays, I came up with the idea of creating these Five UltraModern Noh. Space exploration was then considered as “ultramodern,” associating the characteristic slowness of the narrative deployment of Japanese Noh theater to the movements of astronauts in space. This first episode, Apollo 11 Dream, takes as its starting point the arrival on the moon of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 mission. The finale leaves us with an uncertainty and suggests an alternative ending: did the astronauts return to earth or did they remain on the moon, “trans-formed”.
The visuals, created with AI, were processed and tightly edited on the electroacoustic music previously composed. The composition revolves around the use of these beeps, announcing and closing the communications of the command center in Houston. These Quindar Tones, lasting 250 milliseconds, had respective frequencies of 2525 Hz when the button was pressed in intro and 2475 Hz when it was released, thus indicating the end of the transmission. Using excerpts from the original transcripts of this first mission to the moon, spoken by synthetic voices, the overall result is both narrative and abstract, with a somewhat supernatural quality, another characteristic of Noh. — Alain Thibault
Mu Tuan
Calligrapedia: A Universal Algorithm #2
single-channel, Generative Adversarial Network, 02:42 min., color, stereo, dimensions variable, 2024
Machine Learning Engineer: Aisthesis Savage
Sound Performers: Ku Hsiang-Yu, Yang Yu-Chiao
Folk Tale Narrator: Yang Yu-Chiao
Sound Designer: Chen Lin-Shuang
Data Organizer: Ray He
Supported by the National Culture and Arts Foundation (Taiwan)
Based on the artist’s experience of practicing calligraphy for many years, Calligrapedia: A Universal Algorithm #2 utilizes a machine learning to analyze a large number of calligraphy drafts. Drawing inspiration from natural elements such as landscapes, animals, and plants, it has developed a series of human-machine-made Chinese characters that flow between script and organic things. On the other hand, through collaboration with a folk tale narrator, it reinterprets ancient oral stories passed down worldwide with “qualitative transformation” as its core. Deconstructing machine learning’s aspects of image style recognition and simulation, the work explores how words, language, and mythological narratives in human history continuously interpret themselves through learning from the world around them. It constructs an intertwined view of human-machine-nature interaction.
Eric Vernhes
Ligne De Fuite (Vanishing Line)
installation; generative software, 2017
Max/MSP, Jitter; computer, two screens, camera, sound monitor, steel structure
Because we don’t know when we’re going to die, we can think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything only happens a certain number of times, and a very small number in fact. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon from your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even imagine your life without it? Maybe four, five times, maybe not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Maybe 20. And yet it all seems limitless. —Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky
Vanishing Line stages these particular images that Paul Bowles talks about, on which the flow of life stumbles. The video captures of some of these moments slide across the surface of a horizontal screen. These images are placed randomly under an observation camera that broadcasts them on a second screen as a cinematographic continuity. On this screen are condensed the hatching of time, the decompositions of notable moments of the “film” line of life. Often, the camera re-films the images that it has just captured. The resulting “feedback” process causes a degradation in the quality of the images, evoking the process of erosion of memory and finitude.
Mathieu Zurstrassen
/antipodal Portal/
sound installation, 2023
stainless steel, electronics, field recording [04:00:00, single-channel sound, loop]
An Antipodal point refers, on the surface of a sphere, to two diametrically opposite points. The proposal for CYFEST aims to metaphorically connect the building to its geographical opposite. This location is 1750 km south to Adamstown, Pitcairn, in the open sea. The proposal reflects on the invisible, what can’t be seen at first sight, what lies beyond apparently insurmountable barriers. It is an opening to a journey through the imagination. The installation draws its inspiration from the air ducts present in old buildings, the perception of muffled and barely audible discussions, decontextualized pieces of life devoid of visuals that act like a cerebral catalyst and opens the field to the imagination.
The special section of CYFEST 16 explores how Korean artists express their collective experiences shared from the past, as well as individual memories and emotions regarding specific events or current situations, in line with this year's festival theme, Archives of Feelings, Journey, within the rapidly changing technological era.
There are five works. Kim Anna's Invisible Cities: <OPIM> demonstrates artistic experiments that break free from the constraints of the physical body while blurring the boundaries between reality and the virtual. Studio MBUS703 (Chiwook NHo)’s The Time Capsule reflects on cultural heritage archives driven by common human desires. Jeonghan Kim's BirdMan’s Journey seeks a symbiotic direction for self-recognition through the perceptions of others. YeSeung Lee's A Glassy Vision: DongDong expands the audience's perception at the intersection of virtual and reality by reinterpreting the future through the integration of technology and sensory experiences. Kira Kim's Blind and Mute invites reflection on the relationship between individuals and society by exploring historical events, emotions, and memories, fostering a shared understanding of the zeitgeist. What deserves attention is the “subtle sensitivity” of the artists (humans) that forms the basis of the works, grounded in memories and information beyond new technology. I expect that this intriguing journey will allow us to encounter the interaction of “human senses and various emotions” that underpins empathy and communication between art and technology in virtual space. — Seungah Lee
Anna Kim
Invisible Cities: <OPIM>
VR, 2021
Invisible Cities: <OPIM / ㅇ ㅗ ㅍ ㅣ ㅁ > is a transdisciplinary collaborative mixed reality using motion capture technology. Initially showcased as a live performance, it is an artistic experiment that allows both artists and viewers to overcome spatial and temporal boundaries through merge of the real and virtual.
The project was organized to have artists of different genres (a writer, a media artist, a composer, and a choreographer) come together in a fashion similar to the surrealist game of “exquisite corpse” allowing for each contribution to overlap those of others’ rather than adhering to an unidirectional output. Created against the backdrop of the turbulent socio-economic landscape during the COVID-19 pandemic, the surreal landscape of <OPIM> attempts to open up a new psychical horizon about a new world to come. It is a journey onto the alien nebula “Aldalbach” in the collaborator Sim Na-wool’s story, Virtual Love, a virtual city built upon a phantasm beyond the graspable reality which unfolds in the work. <OPIM> is a virtual world that consists of imaginary subsistence.
Studio MBUS703 (Chiwook Nho)
The Time Capsule
VR, 2024
The Time Capsule is a digital art project that explores the intersection of art and technology. It raises profound questions about the preservation of contemporary media art in an age when digital mediums rapidly evolve and become obsolete.
This work considers the transient nature of digital art and how it might be recorded, archived, and rediscovered by future generations. The project challenges us to think about the future of art preservation by encapsulating these reflections within a virtual environment. It evokes deep emotional connections by confronting themes of memory, impermanence, and the shared human desire to leave a lasting legacy.
Jeong Han Kim
BirdMan’s Journey
VR, 2024
BirdMan is half human and half bird. The world in which they live is a vast desert surrounded by an infinite wall of mirrors. BirdMan can only become complete by reflecting the other half in the mirrors. But that perfection is both virtual and real.
This work maximizes the effect of binocular rivalry. It makes the environment in the virtual world more surreal by displaying different images on both sides of the head-mounted display. Like Wittgenstein's rabbit-duck illustration or the Necker cube, BirdMan's hybrid perception gives us the opportunity to perceive our own perception. As Thomas Nagel demonstrated in What Is It Like to Be a Bat?, we cannot perceive the perceptions of others. Still, we cannot stop trying for the sake of the symbiosis with others.
YeSeung Lee
A Glassy Vision: DongDong
AR, VR, 2024
A Glassy Vision: DongDong explores the concept of “vision,” which goes beyond mere sight, by reinterpreting the future through the integration of technology and sensory experience. Glasses serve as a key motif in this project, using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies to blur the boundaries between physical reality and the virtual world, expanding the viewer’s perception.
The exhibited graphic glasses offers more than just visual pleasure or glasses function not as mere tools; they present a multi-layered futuristic landscape through augmented reality. Viewers can explore virtual spaces beyond reality, experiencing new ways in which the past and present are interconnected.
Kira Kim
Blind and Mute
Single channel video, 09:48 min, 2023–2024
Blind and Mute explores the relationship between individuals and society, portraying people who, while capable of hearing and speaking, are blind to the world, or those who can see the present but cannot speak or hear, as well as the unstable and fluid nature of society. Additionally, through artistic expression, the piece raises questions about human connection, resilience, and the limitless potential of human expression beyond sight and sound as It draws significant inspiration from the exploration of historical events, emotions, and memories.
This work also emphasizes deeply on human suffering and shares the spirit of the times, as it offers a social reflection on Korea's past, present, and future — marked by conflict, confrontation, and anger. Furthermore, the ultimate goal of this work is to recognize and honor the resilience and beauty of individuals who live with sensory challenges, delivering the depth of expression beyond words to the audience and expanding the realm of empathy with those who navigate the world differently. It is a powerful performance aiming to convey this message.