Fotini Christophillis and Olga "OLYA" Kisseleva Photo Credit: Elly Vadseth
This September, I joined forces with composer/vocalist Olga "OLYA" Kisseleva to present our collaborative interdisciplinary project at Berklee College of Music. We presented the first piece of our trilogy titled "Birth" at Berk Recital Hall on Friday, September 22, 2017.
This was the second time we have performed this piece and our exploration is evolving. Prior to the performance, Olga and I prepared audio samples of myself drawing. It was interesting to think of drawing not as the final image to be delivered and presented before an audience, but as the process of making, the energy of movement. In doing this, I tuned into the emotion. I thought about the experience of the audience hearing the marks versus seeing them. I realized that the ears are very sensitive, and when hearing sounds, an audience would begin to embody the sound, feeling as if they were actually drawing, as if they were making the marks. It would become a visceral, immediate experience. In this way, my drawing took on a new life. I became interested in what the audience would feel in their body. This coupled with the symbol I would create on stage in the live moment would activate the senses in a fresh way.
We are creating spaces and environments for the audience to embody the work. Rather than a space of contemplation such as a gallery, we are creating a space of feeling.
In addition to sampling the sounds of mark-making integrating this into the score, we amplified the sounds of the mark-making on the canvas in the live performance, creating a percussiveness that became part of the experience. Rather than creating a polished image, I was creating the space to embody the rhythms of the live performance, the rawness, the freshness of this exploratory sono-visual landscape.
Stay tuned for more! I am excited to present the second piece of the trilogy, "Breaking Bounds", at the Space Studio on Saturday November 18 at 7pm as part of the EP Release event for composer Anu Lopez.
I can't wait to see where this journey takes us.
Poster Design by Fotini Christophillis
Fotini Christophillis Photo Credit: Alice Chi Xiao
Fotini Christophillis Photo Credit: Alice Chi Xiao
Olga "OLYA" Kisseleva Photo Credit: Alice Chi Xiao