PRESS RELEASE 01 FEBRUARY 2018»SKALAR«REFLECTIONS ON LIGHT AND SOUND BY CHRISTOPHER BAUDER AND KANGDING RAY IN COLLABORATION WITH CTM FESTIVAL 2018 AND KRAFTWERK BERLIN PRESS DAY FRIDAY, 26.01.2018 EXHIBITION 27.01. 25.02.2018 4 X LIVE PERFORMANCES 11 AM NOON MONDAY THURSDAY 03 PM 09 PM FRIDAY - SATURDAY 01 PM 11 PM SUNDAY 01 PM 09 PM SUNDAY, 04.02.2018 06 PM + 08:30 PM SATURDAY, 24.02.2018 08 PM + 10:30 PM
SKALAR is a large-scale art installation that explores the complex impact of light and sound on human perception. Light artist Christopher Bauder and musician Kangding Ray give an audiovisual narration of radiant light vector drawings and multi-dimensional sound inside the pitch-dark industrial space of Kraftwerk Berlin. By combining a vast array of kinetic mirrors, perfectly synchronized moving lights and a sophisticated multi-channel sound system, SKALAR reflects on the fundamental nature and essence of basic human emotions. With its titular Turmoil theme, CTM Festival 2018 sets the perfect environment to launch the artistic venture of SKALAR. In collaboration with the festival, SKALAR s installation version runs daily from 27 January to 25 February 2018, supplemented by four exclusive SKALAR LIVE performances on the 4 and 24 February. Kraftwerk Berlin houses this massive light and sound sculpture within its cathedral-like industrial architecture, suspending the distractions of everyday life and fully immersing the audience into an otherworldly experience. SKALAR is an intense journey through the cycle of basic human emotions. The full spectrum of emotional experiences is triggered by ever-changing tonalities in light, sound, and motion. Feelings of awe, surprise, exhilaration, anticipation, and of having one s senses overwhelmed are created, explored, and repeated in cycles throughout the piece, providing a collective and yet highly individual emotional experience. SKALAR is a central piece within light artist Christopher Bauder s body of work, reflecting his deep fascination with light. Light and darkness as endless cycles of day and night define our perception of time and influence our emotions. In SKALAR, light is treated as a solid material that can be sculpted and shaped to architectural dimensions, evoking abstract emotional associations. Intertwined with musician and composer Kangding Ray s tireless exploration of textures, rhythm, and sound design, the silence of darkness is filled with iridescent formations of spatial light and sound. Measuring 45m in length, 20m in width, and 10m in height, the generative luminous structure encompasses a perfectly synchronous interplay of 65 motorized mirrors, 90 moving lights, and a multichannel sound system elevating creative possibilities to a whole new level. SKALAR is made possible by the technical expertise and generous support of three main partners. The art and design studio WHITEvoid manages the event s production and provides custom software development, KINETIC LIGHTS offers its high-performance precision motor winch systems, and ROBE lighting provides the highest quality in moving light technology: ultra-sharp and homogeneous parallel light beams that can hit designated positions with repeated precision and perfect colour consistency across 90 devices. All technical partners are helping extend the limits for this groundbreaking, cross-media project.
ABOUT CHRISTOPHER BAUDER Christopher Bauder is an artist and designer working in the fields of light and installation art, media design and scenography. He focuses on the translation of bits and bytes into objects and environments, and vice versa. Space, object, sound, light and interaction are the key elements of his work. In 2004 he founded the multidisciplinary art and design studio WHITEvoid, which specializes in interactivity, media, interior architecture, and electronic engineering. Bauder has brought his installations and performances to events and spaces around the world, including Centre Pompidou Paris, MUTEK Montreal, Fete des Lumieres Lyon, The National Museum of Fine Arts Taiwan and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. He is best known for his city-wide light art installation LICHTGRENZE, created in 2014 together with his brother Marc for the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. www.christopherbauder.com www.whitevoid.com
ABOUT KANGDING RAY There are few musicians who manage to explore the convergence between techno and experimental as successfully as David Letellier aka Kangding Ray. The aesthetic domains of his home labels, Raster- Noton and Stroboscopic Artefacts, epitomize his complex sound; an aesthetic that tests boundaries, evolving tirelessly in its exploration of texture, rhythm, and sound design. Letellier s foundations in rock and musique concrète give his music a vitality and uniqueness that has won over fans the world over, from discerning avant-garde electronica listeners all the way to devoted clubbers. Those who have been following Letellier since his debut album, 2006 s Stabil, will recognise not only his meticulous and constantly developing approach to sound design, but also the conceptual gravity behind his releases. www.kangdingray.com
ABOUT KRAFTWERK BERLIN Located in the heart of the city, the former power station Kraftwerk Berlin is a piece of Berlin s industrial history. Built approximately at the same time as the Berlin Wall, its purpose was to power the central districts of East Berlin. As of 1997, the building stood abandoned for many years, before Dimitri Hegemann gave it a second life in 2006 by relocating his world-renowned techno club, Tresor, into a part of the giant building. Slowly thereafter, the former power plant s three levels have been carefully adapted for their new (cultural) life. Today, Kraftwerk Berlin stands as an enormous space and important part of the city s established cultural venues. The building houses many cultural events year-round, and is notably the home for the Berlin Atonal festival, which was recently revived. www.kraftwerkberlin.de
ABOUT CTM FESTIVAL 2018 From 26 January 4 February 2018, CTM 2018 returns to its constellation of exciting nightlife and cultural venues in Berlin, including HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berghain, YAAM, and Festsaal Kreuzberg. The festival pairs a nighttime programme of concerts, club nights, and special events together with an exhibition, installation and daytime conference and networking events. Together with transmediale festival for art and culture, the two festivals comprise one of the most comprehensive and relevant occasions in the world for yearly reflection on digital culture. Since its early days, CTM Festival has featured music and art that acts as a mirror for social and political conditions. CTM 2018 Turmoil explores the state of music and sound practice in the face of a confusing and critical present: What is the sound of turmoil? What are aesthetics of tumult? Which other sonic and musical responses could we conceive of to counter the current overload of agitation? As it inquires into these questions, this CTM edition also renews and strengthens a commitment to welcoming a wide range of artists and audiences with diverse backgrounds. www.ctm-festival.de
PRESS RELEASE TICKETS, FESTIVAL PASSES, AND PRESS ACCREDITATION Tickets for the SKALAR installation are available for 12 (9 reduced), and SKALAR LIVE performances are available for 25, via eventbrite. For the installation, adults accompanying children can save money with a Family Ticket, priced at 20. PRESS CONTACT press@whitevoid.com SKALAR PARTNERS & SPONSORS Produced by: WHITEvoid KRAFTWERK Berlin CTM Festival Supported by: ROBE KINETIC LIGHTS AUDI