PICA’s Summer Exhibitions feature three diverse screen and sound based works created by Australian and international artists leading in these fields.
Running from Feb 9 - April 19 in association with Perth Festival, PICA will be transformed by immersive screen, virtual reality and gaming installations. The exhibitions showcase works from three artists: Sydney-based Tina Havelock Stevens; internationally renowned artist and musician Laurie Anderson and Taiwanese new media artist Hsin-Chien Huang and New York City’s Jacky Connolly. PICA Director Amy Barrett-Lennard said: “We are thrilled to be offering a suite of new experiences for our audiences, created by some of the most compelling artists of our time. PICA will become a digital playground during Perth Festival, providing out of body experiences, moments of quiet reflection, and narratives that are strangely familiar.”Thunderhead
Tina Havelock Stevens has emerged as a leading figure in contemporary Australian video and performance. Her background as a documentary filmmaker and drummer from the post-punk music scene has a direct influence on her practice where she works predominantly in video, music, sound, experimental documentary and performance.
In Thunderhead, Havelock Stevens offers a series of video works accompanied by improvised sound scores. These installations act as a channel for emotions and histories that reside in both built and natural landscapes. Details: Ground Floor Gallery | FreeChalkroom
Created by pioneering artist and musician Laurie Anderson and Taiwanese new media artist Hsin-Chien Huang, Chalkroom is a virtual reality (VR) experience unlike any other.
Enter an ordinarily white gallery space to find the walls filled with drawings scrawled across all surfaces. Audiences are invited to wear a VR headset and journey through an enormous structure made of words, scribblings and stories. Once you enter this realm you are free to roam and fly, to experience the power of words.
Details: First Floor Gallery Free | No bookings | Walk-ins onlyHudson Valley Ruins
Hudson Valley Ruins is a short narrative film produced entirely in the computer game The Sims 3. Using the conventions of the game, in which players simulate the lives of a modern family, Jacky Connolly has created a complete set, narrative and cast of characters.
The exhibition tracks the unsettling experiences of two young female characters as they navigate the banal, tense and quietly disturbing world of suburban Upstate New York. Combining conventions of gothic horror with the domestic melodrama, Connolly has created a noir film for the digital era.
Details: Screen Space | Free