Presence originated as a sound performance at an event curated by VOLUME at the Torrance Art Museum (June 2010). The original sound performance used a mixture of recordings taken with a cell phone of sounds that altered ones perception. These recordings were then digitally enhanced their unique characteristics.
During the original performance, multiple artists also performed and interacted with the space. Their unexpected interventions influenced the outcome and this unexpected interaction has become central to the pieces’ development.
Presence explores the trajectory from uneasy to breakthrough that can happen when unknown variables are combined. Through the use of multiple sparse passages, Presence moves smoothly through the a number of states. Evenly paced passages drift slowly from one into another, beginning in dissonance and slowly shifting into complimentary over the duration of the piece.
Later versions of the performance are paired with similarly paced video projection based from still images of the beige walls of the original performance space that were bathed in red and blue light. The projected light is intended to create an atmosphere for the performance to inhabit that is soft and neutral.
