At PICA we recognise that we are situated within the unceded lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation. We pay our respects and offer our gratitude to Elders past and present, and to those emerging leaders in the community. We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the importance of their care and continued connection to culture, community and Country.

Always was, always will be.

We are closed today. Our exhibitions are always free.

Working in Synergy: Collaborative fusion of the visual and sonic

Working in Synergy: Collaborative fusion of the visual and sonic

Join animation and visual media artist Sal Cooper and composer and sound designer Kate Neal for a day long workshop exploring the collaboration between vision and sound as part of their While You Sleep National Tour.

While You Sleep is an aural and visual excursion into the musical fugue and psychological ‘fugue state’ performers spin across the stage on wheeled chairs as they interact with immersive visuals. Hand-drawn animation, live-action, video and stop-motion play out as pianist Jacob Abela, violinists Isabel Hede and Zachary Johnston, violist Phoebe Green and cellist David Moran perform 50 minutes of memorised music, bereft of stands and sheet music, while in choreographed motion.

With a partnership spanning over 14 years, this workshop facilitated by Kate and Sal will incorporate conversation, discussion and considerations from the group that look at various modes and methodologies, starting points and content building.

This workshop will also provide the opportunity to create a new short work in pairs using phone camera, laptops, software and the set of While You Sleep, including the scrim, set projectors, paper screen, audio speakers, toy piano and keyboard.

This will result in a private presentation of short works made by the group. This workshop is free to attend and numbers are limited. Please submit an EOI to be considered.

Watch Sal and Kate’s While You Sleep Interview
Visit Sal and Kate’s website Flight Risk

About the Artist

Sal Cooper and Kate Neal Sal Cooper (animation/visual media) and Kate Neal (composition/sound design) have been collaborating for over 14 years. Their cross-platform work is concerned with developing new languages to explore aspects of our human existence and articulating these discoveries through the relationship between vision and sound. They are interested in exploring absurd propositions and strange emotional landscapes. Cooper and Neal create work across a variety of presentation mediums: short films for cinematic and performance contexts; large-scale staged visual-theatre works; installations and new music concert pieces. Their first collaboration Song For a Comb was a Tropfest finalist in 2009 and won Best Animation and Women in Film Awards. In 2019 they premiered The Commuter Variations, for solo piano and animation with New York based pianist Lisa Moore. While You Sleep, a live theatrical performance piece for string quartet and visual media, further explored the boundaries between visual art and music and premiered in a sell-out season at Arts House in November 2018. They are currently developing a number of commissions including a major new work for the Rubiks Collective.

Tura is a not-for-profit cultural and community development organisation based in Perth, Western Australia. Tura is a producer as well as a resource centre and cultural advocate. Founded in 1987 Tura has a proud history of achievement in initiating cultural development from the inner city to remote communities across Australia.
Tura engages in an inspiring and innovative exploration of music and sound that resonates within Australian culture and the wider global community. We produce projects and experiences that celebrate music and the sonic arts. We prioritise collaboration, embrace cross-cultural learning, and defy expectations. Tura makes a leading contribution to the cultural life of Australia and beyond through award-winning productions and community engagement programs. Tura supports artistic risk and innovation to stimulate participants and audiences to experience uncommon perceptions of their world and themselves.

Supporters

The tour of While You Sleep has been supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory and the Contemporary Music Touring Program.

Image Credit: Shelly Higgs

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