Residency · art-science · 2018
Scientific Delirium Madness — Djerassi
A month of working without separating astronomy, music, performance and conversation.
The residency
A space for experimentation
From 13 June to 11 July 2018 I took part in Scientific Delirium Madness 5.0, Leonardo's art-science residency at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in California. For a month, artists and scientists from very different disciplines lived and worked together, sharing processes, ideas and work in progress.
For me it was a chance to explore astronomy through other languages: playing, improvising, talking and developing ideas with musicians, performers, visual artists and scientists, without drawing a hard line between research and artistic practice.
Roots Harmonics
Improvisation among redwoods
One collaboration that emerged during the residency was Roots Harmonics, with Anya Yermakova, Dasha Lavrennikov and Kevin Kelsey. The site-specific performance combined sound, movement, found objects and improvisation around the exposed roots of old redwoods.
Work in progress
Concerto for Charango and Orchestra
During that period I was also working on material connected with the Concerto for Charango and Orchestra, developed with Anya Yermakova. The piece combines traditional and graphic notation, astronomical data and fundamental laws of physics. We later recorded it in Chile with the Pudahuel Youth Orchestra, with me as co-composer and charango soloist.
Visual notes
From the month at Djerassi
