Conceptualised and curated by Nikhil Nagaraj (Bangalore, India) and Felix Deufel (Leipzig, Germany), two sound artists and sound engineers, If We Vanish is an immersive audio-visual and contemporary dance performance presenting an artistic study about some of the most quiet and secluded places in the world.
Nikhil and Felix first met in 2017 at the first workshop for 3D Audio of the new 3D Soundlab Bangalore, which was Felix's bangaloREsidency project in collaboration with his host Indian Sonic Research Institute. In 2018, Nikhil travelled to Leipzig as bangaloREsident-Expanded@Wisp Kollektiv, where the two collaborated on further projects. They share a strong fascination for untouched natural sound-scapes and field recording techniques to preserve these places and bring them elsewhere.
If We Vanish was initiated by Nikhil and Felix following a series of audio field recordings of these isolated spots. The two, along with a solo performer, explore the aesthetic representation of these endangered soundscapes and further scout its potential of mutations, which can be caused by the impact and presence of mankind. In the performance, this second layer of transforming the space and its characterisation is derived by tracking the body and gestures of the dancer. It can be seen as the interactive variable, which interpolates in a purely natural dataset, and which of course will appear in several states of awareness. A three-dimensional interstice created by spatial sound arrangements and a depth-generating projection mapping surrounds the audience and will aurally and visually transport them into a tropical jungle, the middle of a desert or into the dark of one of the deepest caves in the world. This performance, presented in a 3D audio format, showcases the most pristine, untouched ecologically diverse environments, which have been excluded from human interactions for thousands of years but are now in danger of becoming non-existent.
Bangalore-based dancer Ronita Mookerji performs inside an audio-video-light reactive environment. The use of body in electronic music and the transformation of additional content through gestures are key features of this piece, which aim at empowering the performer and the interaction with the audience.
Team Nikhil Nagaraj - Sound Artist Felix Deufel - Sound Artist Ronita Mookerji - Movement Artist (Performer) Tobias Feldmeier - Visual Artist Aruna Ganesh Ram - Dramaturg Niranjan Gokhale - Light Designer Spriha Nakhare - Project Manager
Performance schedule:
Premiere: November 13 & 14, 2021, 8.00 p.m.: ZiMMT, Leipzig, Germany (Tickets at the venue, prior to the performance) November 20, 2021: City Club, Augsburg, Germany
December 11 & 12, 2021, 7 p.m.: Shoonya, Bangalore December 16, 2021, 8 p.m.: G5A Warehouse, Mumbai December 19, 2021, 7 p.m.: The Box, Pune
