February 2nd, 2019, at Folkteatern, Gothenburg, Sweden.
1+1=3 was invited to perform at Folkteatern in Gothenburg. Special in this performance was the inclusion of EEG-controlled video-art made possible with a new module (the GeoMixer) made by Robert Oostenveld, in which a single control value (based on the EEG alpha level) is able to control the interaction between three concurrently playing videos. These video’s were especially made for the occasion by Per Huttner, while the modular synth was controlled by Jean-Louis Huhta, as well as Per Huttner ‘s EEG.
The audience entered a dark space where Jean-Louis Huhta, Per Huttner and Robert Oostenveld were already in place. Jean-Louis was sitting on the left side of the stage, at his modular synthesizer. Per was sitting in the centre, with his back to the audience, facing a dark video screen and connected to the EEGsynth. Robert was seated next to Jean-Louis, to his right, monitoring the EEG and video. He made a short introduction to the performance and how the EEGsynth works.
The performance started in the dark with a slow drone-like sound. Per started moving his body to the music, which was influenced by his alpha-waves. Having meditated 45 minutes prior to the performance he quickly went into a trance, which was further enhanced by the music. About 10 minutes into the performance the video started playing. The videos were slow and hypnotic and were created by Per to evoke a trance-like state in the audience as well. The first images showed slow, nocturnal movements of plants and forests. The quality and colours of the images were influenced by Per’s EEG alpha activity, creating parallel movements in sound and image.
As the music got more intense, so did Per’s movements, and while images became more abstract and dream-like, Jean-Louis added more rhythmic elements. At the height of musical intensity the images changed suddenly, showing eerie images of architecture and vistas of distant cities. The music faded out while the images focused on empty public places in an unknown and exotic city.
After the performance, the audience described their experience in a Q&A. Many talked about the hypnotic quality of the images and how the sound had affected them profoundly. They felt that they had been transported to an altered calm state of mind. The performance seemed to them to have had lasted much shorter than they subjectively experienced – time had flown as well. Speaking of time, this was the first, but not the last time this setup will be performed. We have several dates coming up soon, so stay tuned!