Aerial architecture meets body and sound. For this special edition of Echokamer, renowned Japanese tape musician Aki Onda will explore the installation and surroundings of Stripe by Cocky Eek. Together with dancer Kenzo Kusuda he will use the big inflatable cube as a starting point, and improvise with the surrounding phenomena… the environment, the sound, the lighting and even the audience. Echokamer #18 took place on Saturday June 07, 2014 @Mediamatic.
Aki Onda
Aki Onda is an electronic musician, composer, and visual artist. He is particularly known for his Cassette Memories project – works compiled from a “sound diary” of field-recordings collected by Onda over a span of two decades. Onda’s musical instrument of choice is the cassette Walkman. Not only does he capture field recordings with the Walkman, he also physically manipulates multiple Walkmans with electronics in his performances. In another of his projects, Cinemage, Onda shows slide projections of still photo images, shot by himself, as a performance or installation. However, for this event it is likely to be more instrument based, highlighting his eclectic musical knowledge and skill.
Onda has collaborated with artists such as Michael Snow, Ken Jacobs, Paul Clipson, Alan Licht, Loren Connors, MV Carbon, Oren Ambarchi, Noël Akchoté, Jean-François Pauvros, Jac Berrocal, Lionel Marchetti, Linda Sharrock, and Blixa Bargeld.
Cocky Eek
Cocky Eek started experimenting with lightness and flight by building replicas of da Vinci’s wings and physically trying them out. Her research showed that the mechanics of flight are alien to our human-body and challenge our neuro-architecture; many participants who tried to fly with her wings were so overwhelmed by the proprioceptive sensation of flight that they vomited. Once overcome, the techniques of steering could be mastered to an impressive level.
She studies and captures the dynamics of air, pneumatics and airflow by developing membranes and surfaces. Her approach blends quite naturally with dancer and choreographer Kenzo Kusuda who explores the dynamics and movement of the body in similar ways and in similar depth.
Kenzo Kusuda
Holland-based Japanese choreographer / dancer Kenzo Kusuda reveals poetry through the dancing body. Kusuda takes the audience to a world filled with imagination. His work is possessed by a mystic beauty that lies beyond the perception of our physical senses. With the body’s movement on an almost empty stage, he is able to reveal the invisible through his very personal and intense movement language.