NOTES

Leslie’s work has an exploratory nature, it is very transformative and explores the possibilities with modern technology. Currently working towards her Phd, Deere has begun to expand upon her debut live performance piece titled ‘Modern Conjuring for Amateurs’, she has evolved this into a VR Meditation experience.

Asking, can altered states be achieved through VR?

Array Infinitive: VR Gestural Audio-Visual Performance———Reminds me of a continuation or response to Pamela Z’s gestural works. Except Deere has opted to use VR as a visual enhancement and interestingly detach herself from the performance (the meditators cannot see her).

Array Infinitive requires actions to activate the sounds. Filters and reverb are positioned on the X and Y axis. Interestingly for Deere, the more she improvises with the equipment the more she unlocks–new combinations of sound and patterns emerge from the sheer range of gesture and movement. In her meditation groups she situates herself and the group within one combined VR experience. To note, Deere opted from an electroacoustic setup rather than headphone listening in order to create the sense of a unified experience, the same way one might attend a rave or live gig. (From watching the video the visual aspect seems very vapourwave, psychedelic and anamorphic shapes/colours dance and drift with the ambient sounds).

SPACE—-SOUND—-MOVEMENT—-COLOUR

She developed the piece in Unity, sending data from Max MSP on Ableton.

Her inspiration for this piece stems from:

• Meditation
• Group Meditation
• Colour
• Colour Theory
• Chakra Systems
• Altered States
• Sound Installations

Leslie was assisted by the Glasgow School of Art Choir tp create the ambient/chorus elements.

Journey

Deere’s introduction into sound began with dance, which for a dancer, positioned her within sound, responding to the vibrations through movement, expression and performance. She then moved into tap dancing which puts emphasis on the sounding of the dancer. It was during this period her interest in sound arts and performance arose. Deere states that dance and installation are very similar in the sense they both involve space and sculpture of the body.

Early Installations:

Amplified Time–Using gallery room acoustics and engagement as a tangible medium to replay sound.

Amplified Pair–A headphone piece that amplifies a conversation between two people participating. Encourages the listener to listen deep into the subtleties and nuances of each voice.

Amplified Water–Hydrophone in a water tank.

Interestingly these early works show a clear desire for Deere to uncover hidden sounds, patterns or identities within a given space or person. With her more recent endeavours she now uses her body; concerning gait, rhythm, speed and agility to unlock the hidden sounds along the invisible X and Y axis of her VR experience. Not only in form but in reference, Deere researched heavily into underground topics set within the 1890-1920 timeframe. Her interests lied in spiritualism, feminism, technological advancements and occultist magic/ritual. The melting pot of influences and past experimentation led her to her first live performance; “Modern Conjuring for Amateurs”.

GESTURE—-SOUND—-VIRTUAL REALITY

Literature References:

Thankfully unlike many practitioners who name drop artists and other points of reference way too quickly, as if we should know who they are always talking about, Deere gave a list of resources which I feel can be linked two both current modules.

1. Impression and Presence Within VR (Mark Grimshaw)
2. The Political Possibility of Sound (Salome Voeglin)
3. Performance Theory (Erika Fischer-Lichte)
4. Inner Sound: Altered States in music and media (Jonathan Weinel)

Artistic Reference:

1. Lighthouse (Catherine Yass-Filmmaker)
2. Ann Veronica Janssens (Experiments in light, sound, colour)
3. James Turrel (Installation-Emotional effects of luminosity, light as a tangible substance.
4. Hilma af Klint (Late 19th Century surrealist/mediumship–the channelling of knowledge into all her works)
5. Jef Cornelis (Rave Writer, Documentary maker)
6. William Basinski (Tape Loops)
7. Maryanne Amacher (The third ear and the feeling of sound. How space and positions alter experience)