Date: October 12th Time: 19h - 23h Price: 14 euros at the door
The exhibition Art Park: Finding Natural Beauty in North seeks to reflect on the meaning of the presence (or absence) of Nature in the city. Why is it important to include and preserve green spaces inside the city? How can we make the city more inclusive for its native Nature? Are there creative ways to re-think Nature within urban public spaces?
On this evening, artist Bert Barten will be releasing the new album of his project 'Talking Trees', in which he composes music using trees' vibrations; and Can Bora will present GREEN GITCH, a performance in which the main character tries to save the last plant on earth and shows us the absurdity of human actions on nature.
ABOUT TALKING TREES
Talking Trees is a work on the verge of art, science and nature. Starting from an experiment with a lie-detector and a tree, Bert Barten and Professor in geo-sonification Scot Gresham-Lancaster developed special tools to measure the sap stream, organic compounds, moisture and photosynthesis in trees. These signals are transferred into synthesisers, and the data translated into notes, midi and analog signals. This way, the inaudible vibrations from trees can be now heard and experienced. This show will be the official release of Bert’s new album, Dancing Trees. This album is a celebration of the magical connection between music and the natural world. 🍃🎶 Imagine being serenaded by the rustling leaves, harmonising with the gentle breeze, and resonating with the soulful whispers of ancient trees.
Performers: Bert Barten, Hans Meijer and Pieter Nooten.
Bert Barten is an award winning Dutch multimedia pioneer. Talented in many fields - he is a composer, director, trainer, painter, sculptor and entrepreneur -, Bert has earned his spurs in pop music, touring in Europe in the 1970s and 1980s with his psychedelic rock band, Marsh Mallow. After participating in several music projects during the 90s and early 2000s, he started his career as a director and producer. Focusing on the emotional experience of each individual spectator, he put a mediaeval castle on the map with his interpretation of “The Storm” (Shakespeare). He staged “La Divina Commedia” (Dante) in a harbour setting on the water and played “The Odyssey” (Homer) in old abandoned factories and office buildings, among others. Currently, Bert’s mission is ‘giving voice to nature’, and tTalking Trees is the project he is doing it through.
ABOUT GREEN GLITCH
The performance GREEN GLITCH is an adaptation of the play DreamBazaar, written and performed by artist Can Bora. Inspired by Samuel Beckett's work, the play premiered in Istanbul in 2020 and portrays an absurd world filled with ghosts, human expectations, and disappointments. It sheds light on global crises and interpersonal self-care as the world is on the verge of an upside-down equilibrium due to global warming. The story revolves around Adam, who cares for the last plant on Earth (a little fern) in hopes of attracting rain and witnessing a rainbow one last time. The fiction of a false world is created through Green Screen technique, gifs, pop elements, a cardboard house model, and physical performance. The artist appeals to lies to convey the truth, emphasising the importance of care and gentleness, which "appears first as a failure", as Anne Dufourmantelle writes. Through the relationship with a plant, eroticism, care, anthropocentrism, and human failure are interwoven, highlighting the urgency of taking care of the wider ecology that we are a part of.
Can Bora is an artist who identifies as queer and works across multiple disciplines, including theatre, dance, and performance art. He has a strong background in Somatic Practices, Experimental Dance, and Theatre Studies. After completing his MA in Performance Practices at ArtEZ (Arnhem), video-making became a prominent aspect of his artistic practice. Bora focuses on exploring "the felt-sense" and views the body as a tool for interrogating cultural norms and systems through its materiality. His interdisciplinary performances have received recognition, including The Best Innovative Theatre award and nominations for Best Light Design and Best Choreography from prestigious institutions in Turkey.