A SECRET SONIC WALK EXPLORING QUEER ECOLOGY
Aeon
LZ Dunn & Collaborators
Louise Devenish, Leah Scholes & Vanessa Tomlinson
26 – 29 October
Perry Lakes
Co-created by a team of multidisciplinary artists, Aeon lands a portable speaker in your palm and invites you to meet your fellow audience members at twilight for a one-hour walk through parkland in the vicinity of Perry Lakes in Floreat.
This site-specific work deftly mixes audience participation with a contemporary art aesthetic. It situates itself in the dance and sound-art worlds and extends into public space.
Aeon is a listening manoeuvre; a participatory experiment of sound, movement and group dynamics to question what we think of as ‘natural’. Drawing on bird flocking studies, it is a communal yet deeply personal experience at the intersection of what is considered ‘human’ and ‘animal’ behaviour.
Informed by three simple rules that govern the synchronised movement of bird flocks; separation, alignment and cohesion, Aeon is activated by silence, sound, civic responsibility and personal desire. Creator Lz Dunn, who identifies as a queer artist, said that Aeon developed out of an earlier project, Flyway, a cinematic, walking meditation on urban ecology and migratory birds.
“In Aeon I was interested in floating together two ideas: queer ecology and bird flocking. Queer Ecology refers to a way of thinking that aims to disrupt dominant ideas around sexuality and nature. It invites us to reimagine evolutionary processes, ecological interactions, and environmental politics from a queer perspective,” Lz said.
“It’s one of many ways people are trying to navigate this very complex and unsettling period of time as a society. We seem to be looking for a balance between our need for individual expression and a group – or whole species’ – need for survival.”
“Bird flocks have a quite mystical quality because they have these fascinating strategies for navigating together using their various bodily intelligences. I think as humans we may have become less attuned to our own.”
The exploratory nature of the work, both physically and psychologically, makes every performance unique. Originally commissioned by Mobile States and produced by Performing Lines, this will be Perth’s first chance to experience this exciting nzew work, following seasons at Dance Massive in Melbourne and Sydney’s LiveWorks Festival in 2017.
PICA Director Amy Barrett-Lennard said, “To be able to present an off-site work of the style and calibre of Aeon is very rare. This is the kind of show that audiences could usually only expect to experience at a major arts festival. We are delighted to be presenting Aeon in partnership with Tura New Music as part of the 13th Totally Huge New Music Festival”.
For all media enquiries please contact PICA Communications Manager, Kira Rikkers on +61 8 9228 6307 or communications@pica.org.au.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Aeon
Louise Devenish, Leah Scholes & Vanessa Tomlinson
Perry Lakes – further information will be provided at the time of booking
Dates & Times
Performed at twilight
26 – 28 October, 5:30pm (dusk)
29 October, 6am (dawn) & 5:30pm (dusk)
Tickets
Preview (26 Oct): $20
Standard: $32
Members: $26
Concession & Groups (6+): $22
Schools (groups 10+): $15
BOOKINGS | pica.org.au / 9228 6300 or in person at PICA reception
BIOS
Aeon is led by Lz Dunn. Lz uses performance, movement, sound, video, site-responsive and participatory processes to consider ecologies, queerness, ‘nature’ and place.
Lawrence English is a composer, media artist and curator who presents extensively nationally and internationally.
Shian Law is a performance artist and choreographer aligned with new dance practice and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Lara Thoms’ practice explores socially engaged, site-specific and participatory possibilities in contemporary art.
Performing Lines produces new and transformative Australian performing arts. For over 30 years, they have worked with artists whose work pushes boundaries and sparks new conversations.
Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts is both a producing and presenting institution that runs a year round program of curated exhibitions, seasons in contemporary dance, theatre and performance and a range of interdisciplinary projects. It boasts one of the largest and most breath-taking exhibition spaces in Australia and has become known for the leading role it plays in the presentation of significant new work.
Tura New Music is a not for profit music organisation based in Perth, Western Australia. Tura is a producer as well as resource centre and advocate for New Music. Founded in 1987 Tura has a proud history of achievement in initiating cultural development in Western Australia from inner-city Perth to remote communities of Western Australia.
