Sabbatical Presents: Saturday 12 July at The Afterdark 565 High Street Northcote / 8:30PM / $5
When Worlds Collide (Adam Nash, Greg Wadley)
The Inevitable Orbit (Julian Williams, Dion Nania, Frances Plagne, Greg Flywheel Greg)
Lakes (Sean Bailey)
Eye Off (Simon Taylor)
Cicatrix (Matthew Brown)
Every day thousands of people go to online virtual worlds such as Second Life to communicate, create and explore. There is also a burgeoning scene of people making art and music inside this virtual world, using the unique qualities its virtual space. Two performers who blur real and virtual spaces are Adam Nash and Greg Wadley. They have devised a mixed-reality piece - When Worlds Collide - based on Adam's Seventeen Unsung Songs installation, which is located on a virtual island in Second Life. Adam and Greg pilot their avatars around the island, triggering sounds and animations as they navigate the sculptures. The sound and vision they create is broadcast into ''real world'' venues via a projector and PA.
Adam and Greg have performed WWC twice in Melbourne. They return for a third show - with a twist - at the Afterdark bar, 565 High st, Northcote on Saturday 12th July. The twist is that Greg will be performing from San Francisco - in real time. He will be represented at Afterdark by a laptop, placed on the stage. Also playing this night are The Inevitable Orbit, Lakes, Eye Off and Cicatrix.
The ''instrument'' in this performance - Seventeen Unsung Songs - is an audiovisual installation for Second Life created by Adam (avatar name Adam Ramona). Presented by the Odyssey Art Simulator, it represents a landmark in the development of the virtual audiovisual art/music scene. Deeply interactive, it consists of immersive audiovisual sculptures that are played by the users themselves, activating sounds and animations as they navigate within the sculptures.
Adam Nash is internationally recognized as one of the most innovative artists working in Multi-User Virtual Environments. His work has been presented around the world including at SIGGRAPH, ISEA, and the Venice Biennale. He is currently one of the recipients of the inaugural Australia Council Second Life Artist in Residency grant.
Greg Wadley has played in a number of Australian bands and is a founding member of performance group the Hi God People. Through his Spill label he has produced compilations of Australian music and performed production roles on many albums. He is conducting research into virtual worlds at the University of Melbourne.
