Andrea Anner and Thibault Brevet, the two heads of the Swiss non-industrial robotics practice AATB, are back in Japan for a large-scale, groundbreaking collaboration at Moerenuma Park’s snow storage chamber, in the framework of Sapporo International Art Festival. Elaborating on SIAF 2024 theme, “Last Snow”, and in cooperation with Finnish media artist Professor Jussi Ängeslevä, AATB is devising a performative work that blends robotics, melting ice, and light. A robotic arm, equipped with a drill bit and a flashlight, is set to work to carve a large block of clear ice, gradually converting it to a sculptural caustic lense, refracting the flashlight illumination into an immersive 3D scene projected onto the walls. “PINNANNOUSU” (Finnish for “level elevation”) deals with fragility and ephemerality under the dramatic conditions of contemporary existence in the age of climate change.
PINNANOUSOU, was initiated by Jussi Ängeslevä, further developped in the framework of the research project “A Third Hand – Creative Applications for Robotics”, conducted at ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne, Switzerland by AATB, Alain Bellet and Martin Hertig. Professor Mark Pauly of the EPFL’s Geometric Computing Laboratory and Rayform SA worked on the computation of the ice lens geometry. (more info: SIAF 2024)

To discuss the shifts and drifts between natural processes and human intervention, SUPER DOMMUNE and the Vitality.Swiss program invited AATB for an evening of conversation and performance at the mythical streaming studio in Shibuya, Tokyo. They were joined by another pioneer of media art and computational performance: Daito Manabe, founder of Rhizomatiks, whose practice has constantly pushed the boundaries between human body, data, programming, computers and physical/virtual, natural/artificial phenomena. Moreover, also Naohiro Ukawa of SUPER DOMMUNE and Jonas Pulver, Head of Communications and Culture of the Swiss Embassy in Japan, were present for a deep-dive into the ever-melting, ever-crystallizing nature of form and contemplation.  

In the second part, the Vitality.Swiss podcast producer and DJ Nick Luscombe has teamed up with James Greer as MSCTY Studio to present a new sound work featuring a blend of Swiss and Japanese field recordings focused on the vitality of the natural world! Nick Luscombe and James Greer form the core of MSCTY Studio, a “sound architecture” practice that recognizes the potential of sound and its construction for well-being. For this special program, they were collaborating with Swiss percussionist and producer Julian Sartorius. Vitality in Sound: Switzerland x Japan saw them forming a new live soundscape production that fused Sartorius’ sounds with their own creative responses – with all their new input emerging from sounds recorded in Japan. Sartorius’ sounds came from his work “Hidden Tracks: Basel – Genève,” which was composed during a 10-day hiking trip through Switzerland, and uses the natural world as an instrument and adventurous sound source for performances.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024, 20:00-22:30
Studio viewing: 50 people (Admission: Free) + Live Streaming (SUPER DOMMUNE)
More about the event： SUPER DOMMUNE

Part 1 Talk 20:00-22:00
AATB (Design Practice), Daito Manabe ( Artist, Programmer, DJ), Naohiro Ukawa (SUPER DOMMUNE), Jonas Pulver (Embassy of Switzerland in Japan)
English/Japanese interpretation available

Part 2: Live Performance 22:00 - 22:30
MSCTY_Studio (Nick Luscombe and James Greer) x Julian Sartorius

* In collaboration with SUPER DOMMUNE, this event was held as one of the programs to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Japan.

About speakers and performers : here