the story

| FR |

Eigengrau is an immersive performance. It combines digital stage design, concert and choreography in a futuristic tale which tells a spiritual quest in a world where digital technology no longer exists. It is led by three authors and performers : Raphael Foulon, digital and audiovisual artist; Celine Signoret, choreographer and stage director; Benjamin Vedrenne, visual and plastic artist, electro costume designer.


The show features a ceremony of the Cult of the Algorithm and stages a futuristic temple decorated with the technological remains of an extinct civilization. At its center an 8 feet high prism, bathed in light, used as a choreographic playground for the character of the Initiate, guided by the of the Grand-Priest and the Techno-Pope. In a mysterious atmosphere, the ceremony involves video projections on tulle and smoke screens, interactive lights interplays to the rhythm of a trance made of noise music and mesmerizing drums. Dance, visuals and sound come together inviting the audience to have an immersive experience where all senses are solicited.

« 2586. Our post-industrial civilization has collapsed. After the shock, society has reorganized itself into communities where agrarian self-management has become the norm: for many, an ecological utopia has become a reality. In this context, a sect nostalgic for the technological era, marginalized and persecuted, gathers around the Cvlt of the Algorithm. Its followers reject the eco-realistic philosophy of the inevitable return to the land. Their church: a bunker that used to be a data center. Their saints: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, beatified for having designed the algorithm in the ancient world. The ultimate goal of a cvltist is the Dematerialization, which will bind his soul to others in paradise: the Clovd. Many ex-digital artists have joined the Cvlt. They paint wall art in pixels form, carve out squares in stone to imitate screens, they try to relight dead pixels out of electronic waste. It is told that with each appearance of the Techno-Pope -the Prometheus of the high connection- an initiate is chosen for an awakening ritual by uploading his soul to the Clovd. The Great Server brings the community together around the Prism and and guides the Chosen One through an audiovisual trance to the absolution of his flesh.« 

SANCTVS ALGORITHMVS – Extract from the SaintData

This story is about an art that has become dependent on new technologies and the resilience of the human society to digital environment. It is shaped by specific concerns of our age, offering a critical eye on hi-tech, study of the ecological metamorphoses on our bodies, existentialism, the search for oneself and the concept of emptiness.


NEXT PERFORMANCES

08.20.2022 // BELGIUM.BRUSSELS // Perpetuum Mobile Festival @Bruegel Cultural Centre
07.30.2022 // FRANCE // Cactus Calamité Festival
06.22.2020 // BELGIUM.BRUSSELS // Perpetuum Mobile Festival – Online edition
09.19.1019 // FRANCE.PARIS // Chateau Ephemere
07.26-27.2019 // FRANCE // COUCOOL festival
06.08.2019 // FRANCE.PARIS // ¡SAUVAGE SONIQUE? Villette Sonique @Cabaret Sauvage
05.04.2019 // FRANCE.LILLE // LilleVJ fest 19′ @Volume Ouvert


CREDITS

EIGENGRAU // Immersive performance ∞ AUDIO ∞ VIDEO ∞ DANCE
Video, music : Raphael Foulon
Choreography, staging : Celine Signoret
Set design, electro costumes : Benjamin Vedrenne
Post-connection rituals performed by Raphael Foulon, Celine Signoret, Benjamin Vedrenne

WHO ARE THE CVLTISTS?

Raphael Foulon – audiovisual artist, Celine Signoret – choreographer and stage director, Benjamin Vedrenne – visual and plastic artist, form a French art and multimedia research collective. Awake and affected by the concerns linked to living together, to technological advances and their impact on the environment, they decide to engage in a common creative process around eigengrau, immersive performance and extended universe. With a diversified experience of the stage, they seek to design a framework of expression where music, visuals, scenography, choreography, theatre and poetry merge.


WRITE TO US

[email protected]

instagram @eigengrau.dll
facebook @eigengraudotdll


LilleVJfest19' ©AkimMokrani