Red Bull x Sticks x de Fundatie
“As a maker of music, I put my life, blood, sweat and tears into my lyrics and music. But nowadays, we’re used to music being freely available to listen to anywhere. As a result, the listening experience has become fairly transient – there is simply too much availability.”
“I find this contrast interesting. What would happen if you took the music and lyrics to a place where art is normally ‘consumed’: a museum in other words?”
Circus Family worked closely with artists Sticks & Kubus to design this exhibition and create the installations that would bring their musical vision to life. Supported by Red Bull and museum de Fundatie. One main room showing haunting visual translations created and executed by Russian/Belgian film- and documentary maker and video artist Ira A. Goryainova. The rooms surrounding all adaptations or remixes of those new tracks. Each time surprising the visitor and questioning their view on that what they just witnessed.
For the main room we developed a ‘permutation playlist system’ to incorporate the ‘Onrust / Turbulence’ theme. This system generates a new permutation for the playlist order every time the last track in the playlist is played. Because there is no particular order in the music tracks, having the order change allows for a continuous rediscovery of the tracks.
This main system is also linked to our ‘echo installation’ in one of the cabinets. In this installation, the track playing in the main room is warped and remixed live through a custom set of effects and filters. The link between the main room and the echo installation provides both the intended and unintended (remixed) version of a track in unison.
For the other cabinets we played with perspectives and color to changing the surroundings into a contant state of turbulence. Using elements that stay close to the DIY mentality that is hip hop. Good quality beats on a good volume, studio speakers, handwritten lyrics with markers, a recording studio, matte black wood panels, paper posters & photography by the artist.
‘De schijnbaar willekeurige volgorde van de liedjes maken het nog lastiger te vertrekken. Sommige nummers klinken twee keer achter elkaar, dan begint iets wat je nog niet gehoord hebt. Nooit weet je zeker of je alles tot je hebt genomen.’
-Trouw-
‘Een kleine fotoserie loodst je naar de rustigste ruimte van de expositie. Een compleet witte muur gevuld met witte speakers staart je aan. Uit de speakers komen rustige instrumentals. Het voelt alsof het een handreiking is naar de bezoeker, om na alle onrust hier de rust terug te vinden. Wie zich kan verliezen in de muziek van de ruimte zal dat lukken, maar de muziek uit alle ruimtes die hier lijken samen te komen als chaotische achtergrond muziek zorgt voor een wrang contrast tussen rust en onrust. Een gepast einde van een ongepaste albumpresentatie.’
-hiphopinjesmoel.com-
Sticks / Red Bull / museum de Fundatie
Consultancy Design Direction Animation Scripting Build
with Kubus, AVEX, Signburo & Theo Schrijver
All images by @bergdotjpeg / Red Bull Media House
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Circus Family 2019