Break 2.2 Festival report
Pointless Creations travelled to Slovenia (21-30 june 2003)to take part in
the Break2.2 festival held in Ljubljana.
The Break 2.2 Festival (previously called Break 2.1 Festival) is an international
art festival focused on urban, technologically supported artistic practices
that can be considered part of the current avant-garde. The festival (now in
its seventh year) has, in a relatively short time established itself as one
of the most important festivals in Slovenia and gained worldwide recognition.
The selected theme for the Break 2.2 Festival is "Invisible Threat."
By presenting a number of art projects and lectures at the symposium, each one
treating different aspects of this theme, the organisers want to make it possible
for festival audiences to experience a reality in which dangers have been kept
hidden. The goal of the Break 2.2 Festival is to inspire the artistic and theoretical
presentation of seismographic threat-spotting and to stimulate the viewer's
awareness of the surrounding world.
The Pointless collective responded to this theme by proposing a Video Switchboard
performance and visual environment for the closing event of the festival.
The Video Switchboard is a mutated piece of hardware ( a recycled 1960’s
reel to reel unit) designed by Pointless Creations to perform sound and video
simultaneously. By using images in ways similar to musical samples, we create
visible sounds and expand musical rules beyond the audible spectrum.
We used black and white graphics created to suit the festival’s identity
around a selection from our performance pieces that use dark humour to explore
the themes of violence, exploitation, control and invasion.
2 video performers, 2 djs and 2 installation artists re-arranged the dance floor
space of Klub K4 to create a visual/ musical/ social environment designed to
bring together all the artists and contributors to the festival with the public.
We used video and slide projections on rotating 3-dimensional screens and positioned
ourselves amongst the audience to break down the traditional stage/ spectator
relationship.
The 6 hour long event (10pm-4am) consisted of the Video Switchboard live set
with turntable manipulations from the Ignorant DJs using experimental needle
contraptions (such as the double needle and the hand stylus).
The audience’s (and the club’s staff’s!) enthusiast response
encouraged us to extend our set until everyone had had their fill of invisible
threats.
We also presented our work (open space: about_Video Switchboard) at the Kapelica
gallery.
The Break2.2 festival proposed an exciting program in varied locations throughout
Ljubljana. Its time scale of events spread over 10 days enabled us to meet many
of the festival contributors which really helped with the conception of the
final event.
We stayed in the newly opened Celica Youth Hostel, a former military jail converted
into funky accommodations/ art gallery in the middle of the Metelkova area.
This Squatted ex yugoslav army base has become a vibrant compound of bars and
music venues where some of the Break performances took place.
Thanks a million to Ursa, Samo, Meta, Tao, Sabina and the rest of the Break
team for organising such a great event.
Our performance at the festival was made possible by the financial support from
the British Council’s Artists’grants program and the Staff from
their Ljubljana/ London offices.
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