ARTISTS will attempt to take back control from technology in a double bill of work presented in the first Cryptic Nights event of the year. Using a mix of moving images, surround sound and music, the evening features Watchtower, Glasgow-based artist Kin’s exploration of modern-day surveillance and Origins, a piece by Italian audiovisual artists Silent Chaos.
International art producers Cryptic have been running regular Cryptic Nights events since 2009. As well as bringing audiences what they believe to be some of the most exciting work being produced today, Cryptic Nights aim to offer a platform for emerging artists based in Scotland, and its award-winning alumni include filmmaker Rachel MacLean and musician/composer Anna Meredith.
The art organisation celebrates the 10th anniversary of Cryptic Nights next week and 25 years this year of giving audiences experiences that aim to “ravish the senses”. Since 1994, Cryptic has programmed 966 artists whose work has been experienced by more than 376,000 people in 29 countries and in this landmark year they will present 36 artists across 10 local, national and international projects.
Kin says the audiovisual installation she will present has even more resonance than when Watchtower was given its first international at the European Convention Centre in Luxembourg in 2017. “The scope of online surveillance and the misuse of our data has certainly become more frequently reported in the mainstream press since I first developed it,” she says. “There’s a deepening awareness of how Facebook, Amazon, Google and the like are using our participation in social media and communication networks, and increasing conversations around our ability to push back against actions that infringe on privacy. Taking the shape of a lighthouse projecting a beam of footage collected by a drone, Watchtower looks at how safety and the avoidance of risk are common justifications for increasing surveillance.”
Meanwhile, in Origins, Silent Chaos aim to create “a dark, dream-like environment” exploring humanity’s increasing disconnect with nature.
“Those attending the performance need only abandon themselves to the sound and visuals, and forget, at least for the duration of the show, the chaotic world dominated by the technology that surrounds us,”
say the Italian collective. They add: “We have worked with many arts organisations in the past, but none like Cryptic – they are what we have been on the lookout for, but have never found – until now.”
March 7, Centre For Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, 8pm, £10, £7 concs. Tel: 0141 352 4900. www.cca-glasgow.com www.cryptic.org.uk
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