Onirica ()
Sharing some behind the scenes of our most recent rehearsal session for Onirica ().
Onirica () is an deeply emotional experience where dream activity and sleep find their corporeal interpretation on stage. The performer's body fragments into broken, sudden, and spasm-like movements alternating with slow and lethargic flows, influencing the background vision through a real-time generation of the visuals.
A new step forward in a research that has been fascinating us for two years. Looking forward to sharing this new piece with you all and thanking Teatro delle Passioni and Emilia Romagna Teatro for hosting us in their spaces.
Info and bookings: [email protected]
The topic of dreams is so vast and fascinating that it was only a matter of time before we launched a new chapter of the Onirica () series, using a medium close to our hearts, but one we haven't explored for quite some time: the dynamism and intimacy of performance.
The human body allows us to narrate from an intimate perspective, putting an emphasis on the physicality of dreaming and sleeping. Produced in collaboration with choreographer Diego Tortelli, this work fuses dance performance and cinematic experience, featuring visuals generated in real-time through the interaction between the performer and artificial intelligence.
Onirica () marks our return to the stage after a seven-year break, and we can't wait to share it with you.
Info and bookings: [email protected]
After 7 years, we’re back on stage.
Onirica () goes live.
More info soon.
Onirica () at Pozu Santa Bárbara is coming full circle.
What we love about Onirica () is its versatility: each viewer can interpret it uniquely, influenced by their own sensibilities. The location also plays a significant role in shaping the experience. We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to create a dialogue between our work and the venue, enriched by its history and significance for the local area. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the L.E.V. Festival team for their passion and care, and for the warm hospitality we received during our visit to Asturias.
Catch the show until the end of this week.
Studies of the Yellow River - 黄河
Old study created for a new project developed around the representation of the Yellow River - 黄河 in China. Different possible visualisations of a stream of water - as a seamless, harmonious line or embracing the jagged irregularity of broken strokes.
FOORT Visualisation
Matter gravitates towards a black hole and, as it draws nearer, it eventually positions itself on an equatorial plane, forming the so-called accretion disk. It starts rotating around the black hole acquiring very high energy and transforming into a state of superheated plasma, which in turn emits powerful streams of photons.
We are currently experimenting with a tool called FOORT, developed by researchers of KU Leuven. It allows for the digital visualisation of black holes leveraging the laws of theoretical physics. We modified the system and added the representation of geodesic trajectories followed by photons as they travel in space.
Thanks to Daniel R. Mayerson and Fabio Bacchini for their help with “FOORT: Flexible Object-Oriented Ray Tracing”: https://github.com/drmayerson/FOORT
Onirica () is on 💭
Come catch it in Verona for the rest of the week - free entrance with registration, more info here: https://adv.pasqua.it/en/page/onirica/
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Artwork by fuse*
Site-specific edition commissioned by Pasqua Wines
(VINITALY April 14-20, 2024)
Ongoing research about black holes and their digital visualization: we started a dialogue with researchers from KU Leuven who developed FOORT, a tool allowing us to imagine black holes through theoretical physics (as opposed to direct observation).
The digital simulation follows the trajectories of photons (geodesics) emitted by the incandescent matter attracted by the hole itself, reversing the time component. It is as if we were taking a photograph of a black hole: the simulation visualizes from different perspectives the theoretical path of the photons travelling from the black hole to a hypothetical camera placed on Earth.
Thanks to Daniel R. Mayerson and Fabio Bacchini for their help with “FOORT: Flexible Object-Oriented Ray Tracing”: https://github.com/drmayerson/FOORT
More tests with particle movements, creating areas where the imaginary cells get propelled through different forces. This time, we also switched the point of view by adding depth of field.
R&D tests with img2video models: an attempt at expanding specific, peculiar dream moments from Onirica ().
We fed the system with single frames from the work, and the model did the rest - from adding camera movements to light flashes. The imperfections and distortions that emerge are among the most distinctive and intriguing features: it's a distinctive aesthetic that can already differentiate this model from others. Looking forward to experiment some more using prompts to condition the video generation.
Onirica ()
The visuals from Onirica () have been produced through a custom pipeline that weaves together three main levels: a generative system based on particle simulations, text-to-image diffusion model and its subsequent visual reworking. All synthesised into a single feedback process that advances over time.
For instance, GLSL Shaders are used twice in the pipeline: the first is influenced by the audio of the piece, the EEG data from the dreamers and sleep patterns parameters, while the second adds an additional layer of details on top of the image elaboration.
The visual identity of each edition of NODE festival features a specially commissioned artwork by an artist close to the festival. For this 11th edition, it was natural for NODE to finally invite fuse* to showcase a specially commissioned piece, marking the apex of our longstanding relationship.
This year's work is a 3D digital sculpture conceived through a procedural pipeline in Houdini. Characterised by a visually intricate structure obtained through a set of deformations and subdivisions, it conceals an opening crossed by a distinct central beam of light. Despite its distance from previous artistic choices in terms of the tools and processes employed, the work is inspired by the contrast between analogue and digital, natural and artificial, paying homage to the themes explored in the festival's 15-year history.
For the first time this year, NODE festival program will also include a series of talks curated by fuse*: the second panel will happen on Dec 9th, at 11.30am at the Ridotto of the Teatro Comunale of Modena. This time, we will see NODE artists Cevdet Erek and the collective SPIME.IM in a dialogue with lecturer and curator Valentino Catricalà.
Through a broad and multidisciplinary perspective on contemporary art languages, the panel will attempt to delineate the points of contact between the hybrid explorations of music, performance, architecture and audiovisual experiences.
The talk will be in English.
Free entry, reservation required 🔗 https://www.nodefestival.com/archivio/2023/programma/9-dicembre/talk-esplorazione-nel-multimedia-contemporaneo/
NODE festival is less than one week away: fuse* has actively been involved as co-producers of the festival since 2016. Born in the same year and in the same city, it was only natural that we would create such a strong connection.
Since the start, NODE has hosted performances that have deeply impacted our practice: it has been one of our reference points to discover the practices of artists we have always admired. Our involvement is motivated by our gratitude towards a community that has played a crucial role in our history, together with the intention of sharing with the local audience the creative languages that inspire us. As organisers, we also assume a different role than usual: we get the chance to support the invited artists and gain a different perspective on the work we do every day as creatives.
This edition, we are welcoming:
Caterina Barbieri and Space Afrika, together with MFO and Ruben Spini
Kelly Moran
Cevdet Erek
Gábor Lázár
Alex Guevara
spime.im
Bendik Giske
Ellen Arkbro
Synspecies (Elias Merino & Tadej Droljc)
Mihalis Shammas
For the first time this year, NODE Festival program will also include a series of talks curated by fuse*: the first will happen on Thursday, Dec 7th, at 6.30 pm at la Torre and will see Synspecies (formed by artists Elias Merino and Tadej Droljc) in dialogue with Nacho de La Vega, the co-director of LEV Festival. They will introduce their new research project, ASBU, they started developing during the artistic residency at la Torre.
The artists' residency is supported by the 2023 European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists (EFFEA), an initiative of the European Festivals Association (EFA), co-funded by the European Union. ASBU is coproduced by LEV Festival, INDEX Biennale, WeSa Festival, SnaporazVerein and NODE Festival in collaboration with Basemental.
The talk will be in English.
Free entry, reservation required 🔗 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIP498jFo6mcFTCTPFMy5FXsU3EgioexOlZukgVqeqQgugcw/viewform
Bird eye view onto the setup of the 18-meter, 360° projected sphere that became the surface of Luna Somnium at Videocittà 2022. It's still so hard to convey the magnitude and power of this installation.
Particle study #4: another instance of a three-dimensional shape defined by floating particles.
The final aesthetic of Onirica () is the result of a close collaboration between human being and artificial intelligence: text-to-image systems propose endless possible translations of dreams into images and voices, however they do not possess any kind of decision-making ability concerning aesthetic and conceptual choices.
The technology thus assumes the role of a creative assistant that interprets directorial directions by proposing possible ideas and solutions, in a relationship comparable to that which develops within a film crew composed, in this case, of humans and intelligent machines. Onirica () also accentuates the tension by translating a purely human experience - the dream - through the eyes of new technologies.
Catch Onirica () overseas next week: it is going to be exhibited at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest from Nov 7th to 12th. More info: https://www.tccf.tw/showcase-en/onirica
Constrain simulation
Constrain simulation responding in real time to external forces - realized for a past project while exploring fluid movements on a rocky terrain #wip
