HARP

(HERE Artist Residency Program)

Keep Your Electric Eye On Me • Shaun Irons & Lauren Petty & Mei-Yin Ng

Show Description

A solitary woman dwells in an otherworldly landscape — messianic rock star, space explorer, spectral guide – where she inhabits a defunct satellite adrift in a decaying technological oasis. In this hermetic dream world, seemingly cut off from the outside, quiet moments are punctuated with bursts of raucous energy as cryptic signals are transmitted via live feed cameras, projections and sound devices. Part video installation, interactive media lab and live performance, Keep Your Electric Eye On Me explores the malleable conception of the self in an era of cyber communication, engaging notions of loneliness, paranoia and the desire for the unattainable.

The project represents the first collaboration between American video/sound/installation artists Shaun Irons & Lauren Petty and NYC based Chinese Malaysian dancer/choreographer Mei-Yin Ng, founder and artistic director of the MEI-BE WHATever Dance Company.
 

Artist Bio

For nearly a decade, Shaun Irons and Lauren Petty have been seeking evocative and poetic combinations of video, film, audio and performance to create multiple-channel installations, single-channel pieces and documentaries. Their work has been exhibited in diverse locations in New York and internationally. Awards include two NYFA Fellowships, multiple grants from the NEA, NYSCA, Jerome Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, The Experimental TV Center, and The Asian Cultural Council, as well as residency fellowships from The MacDowell Colony, Yaddo and the Tokyo Wonder Site. They actively design video for multi-media performance and have collaborated with a wide range of artists. Their video design work has been seen at St. Ann’s, The Public Theater, HERE, PS 122, The Pompidou Center, The Holland Dance Festival, Abrons Arts Center, and the Venice Biennale.

Mei-Yin Ng was born in Klang, Malaysia. Since moving to NYC, Ng has studied at Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown and Movement Research. Ng has had the privilege of working with Remote Control Productions/Michael Laub in Europe, Nyo-Ba & Dancers in Malaysia, & numerous choreographers in NYC. She founded MEI-BE WHATever in 2002 as a collective for the interaction of artists from diverse fields. Ms. Ng’s work has been presented at DTW, La Mama, PS122, Movement Research, Joyce SoHo, The Flea, Tribeca PAC, Boston Cyberarts Festival and Dance Camera West Festival. Her work has also been seen internationally in both Europe and Asia. Ms. Ng participated in the 2004 Multimedia Forum of Monaco Dance, the 2007 5th Pointe to Point Asia-Europe Dance Forum, and was an artist in residence at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Dance New Amsterdam. Awards include a 2009 NYSCA Grant, and NYFA Fellowships in Choreography and Interdisciplinary Arts.
 

Artist Statement

Shaun Irons & Lauren Petty:
Throughout our careers, we have been striving to expand the understanding of media arts and technology, seeking a provocative synthesis of video, film, audio and sculptural objects to create multi-channel installations, single-channel pieces, as well as interactive video scores to accompany live performance. We have continually embraced an open, cross pollination of genres, media and styles, which inform, challenge and influence each other, pushing the work into new and unforeseen directions. We view this new project as an occasion to advance our aesthetic practice, by creating a hybrid and collaborative work, which embraces a combination of dance/theater, video installation, sound art, and set design to create an immersive and transformative experience.

Mei-Yin Ng:
I am very excited to be working on this new project with Lauren & Shaun as I believe that it will be a fantastic opportunity to create a work which will expand the visual and technical language of my stage performance pieces. I continually welcome the opportunity to collaborate with new artists, as it always leads to unforeseen ideas and creative outcomes.
 

Project Feed

View Project Blog

Culturemart Write-up

We got a short write-up about our Culturemart show on Infinite Body - she was disturbed in a good way!  Seems that we are doing something right... Check it out here. http://infinitebody.blogspot.com/2012/02/keep-eye-on-culturemartists.html

Keep Your Electric Eye On Me

A quick sketch for the work...

Summer Production Pics

Some pictures from the HARP Summer Retreat

Revolving Twilight - Shaun Irons & Lauren Petty

Revolving Twilight is an immersive multi-media installation, combining video, audio, sculptural elements and performance, inspired in part by tales from nautical lore, the behavior of light particles, ghost ships and the reveries of a drowning victim. Engaging minimal yet evocative...