Digital emotion

Elektra celebrates its 10th anniversary with
international talent and an interactive spy

TRIPPY: Otolab’s op7

by SACHA JACKSON

Launched in 1999, this year marks Elektra’s 10th anniversary, and to celebrate, there’s 10 days (May 1–10) of digital art and music from all corners of the world.

In the spirit of emerging technology, Elektra this year introduces Lucy, a performance artist who will act as an emotive mediator between the events and outside world. Equipped with specially designed clothes that measure her heartbeat and breathing, Lucy’s emotions, and those of the audience, will then be communicated to the fest’s site where you can monitor her reaction to events, kind of like an emotional Tweet.

Look for Lucy at the kick-off tomorrow night, Friday, May 1 at two celebratory re-vernissages. Articule (262 Fairmount W.) presents Wind Coil Sound Flow, a sound installation by Ken Gregory that uses the principles of the Aeolian harp to produce the sound of the wind. La Centrale (4296 St-Laurent) keeps the party going with Mouna Andraos’s Power Cart, a mobile energy station that will regularly tour the public space and offer electricity to passersby; should be interesting if not electrifying, natch.

Also up this weekend is Inventions, an interactive installation by artist Alexandre Castonguay, which explores the rapport between and artist and his or her tools, using the mimesis of artists’ handwriting and computer graphics from the ’70s. It opens Saturday, May 2 at Pierre-Francois Ouellette Contemporary Art (372 Ste-Catherine W., # 216) at 4 p.m.

No stranger to interactive art, Montreal’s own Alexis O’Hara presents Squeeeeque! a.k.a The Improbable Igloo at SKOL (372 Ste-Catherine W., # 314). This electro-acoustic installation is also part performance, as O’Hara’s voice is just one of the components that will be used to create a sound sphere through superimposed sounds. Performances take place May 5–9 at noon, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Things get breathy and interactive at Usine C (1345 Lalonde) with Jean Dubois and Chloé Lefebvre’s A portée de soufflé, an interactive video that asks viewers to construct a projected image by breathing into their cell phones.

Japanese artist Ryoichi Kurokawa’s audiovisual concert rheo, also at Usine C, makes its North American premiere on Thursday, May 7 at 9 p.m. Working with HD images and sound recordings, Kurokawa distorts the analog material through digital processing to create a whole new soundscape that is reminiscent of memory and how we often distort audio and visual perception. A similar performance takes place the following night, Friday, May 8 at 9 p.m. at Usine C, by Milan’s Otolab. Based on the idea of a tunnel as a transitional space, op7 is a multi-sensory work where sound and image are continually being reconstructed.

Digital art isn’t the only focus of the fest—electronic music is also a prominent feature and this year’s big guests are French electroclash pioneers Black Strobe, who hit the stage at Usine C on Saturday, May 9 for the Special Elektra 10th anniversary night. The night continues with VJ and DJ sets from Why Alex Why, DelRay, Baya and Cardell, Poison Arrow and Gridspace, and a laptop- and sequencer-free set by Black Strobe frontman, Arnaud Rebotini.

FULL SCHEDULE AND DETAILS AT
ELEKTRAMONTREAL.CA