Negentropy Nexus Online Residence

The project titled Practice II focuses on creating a video piece that explores the relationship between an amputee woman and her prosthesis, investigating the rhythms of the body in interaction with technology and the environment. Through a series of interviews with her, the project developed a cartography of forms and colors, aiming to interpret the physical and emotional exhaustions of the body as it attempts to overcome the limits imposed by the very technology it possesses. These limits are approached through the notion of "thing," which flows as the body experiences it in different spaces, environments, and events over time.

Both technology and performance itself seek total precision in movements. However, errors and failures can be interpreted by others as a lack of perception and preparation in relation to the new environment—something that, in this case, does not apply to this body. In tirelessly trying to align with a different rhythm, the rhythm of technological speed, which has transformed the way we perceive the world, things, senses, and environments around us, this body confronts a specific rhythmic reality. This reality invites a poetic reflection on how we can construct a space that is rhythmically dissonant from the rhythm of disaster.

This relentless pursuit of precision has led to continuously uninhabitable spaces. In Exercise II, there is a confrontation between the reality of the search for technical precision and the fiction that involves constructing a non-exhaustive performance. This fusion results from my readings of the interviews, proposing other possible rhythms and alternatives that challenge finding a particular order in the midst of chaos.

Technical Synopsis:

Title: Practice II: A Poetic Reflection on the Rhythm of Technology

Conception: Ana Santos

Acknowledgments: Claudio Oliveira

Technical Aspects:

Medium: Video

Duration: 8 minutes

Year: 2024

Ana Santos is a featured resident artist in the project Negentropy Nexus, curated by Hugo Paquete and organized by Absonus Lab for 2024. This cutting-edge initiative brings together artists exploring themes of entropy, information theory, and complex systems in contemporary art practices. 

"Creation's Gap" offers an immersive sonic journey through an ancient forest, where a majestic oak serves as a secular observer. The acoustic narrative develops around the mystical encounter between two entities, whose interaction catalyzes a profound temporal transformation. This metamorphosis manifests through ambient sound layers that gradually intensify, punctuated by metallic percussive resonances. The work's climax emerges when one of the creatures manifests an intense red glow, propagating through its eyes, ears, and echoes throughout the forest. This crucial moment is amplified by a dense sound texture that, like an acoustic fog, envelops the entire auditory space. In contrast, the oak maintains its constant presence through a fluid and dynamic sinusoidal foundation, acting as a silent guardian of the perpetual cycle of life, death, and rebirth. This composition establishes a tense dialogue between the permanent and the transitory, where reverberations and resonances weave a sonic tapestry that explores the boundaries between stability and change, creating a contemplative auditory experience. The technical sophistication of "Creation's Gap" manifests through a careful fusion of computational and artistic processes. At the composition's core lies a custom Python algorithm that generates serial numerical sequences, establishing the work's fundamental structure. Through CSound, these sequences are transformed into complex sound layers, allowing for deep timbral exploration. The creative process culminates in meticulous organization and refinement in an immersive environment, where synthesized sounds evoke natural textures, creating a fascinating dialogue between the artificial and the organic. This duality invites the listener to question the boundaries between nature and technology in their perception of the soundscape, where the synthetic and natural intertwine indistinguishably.

Technical Synopsis:

Title: Creation's Gap

Composer: Simona Dichio
Duration: 4:06

Year: 2024

Simona Dichio is a featured resident artist in the project Negentropy Nexus, curated by Hugo Paquete and organized by Absonus Lab for 2024. This cutting-edge initiative brings together artists exploring themes of entropy, information theory, and complex systems in contemporary art practices. 

The “Creation's Gap” project is accompanied by concept art developed by Hugo Paquete and the Absonus Lab creative team, conceived as a illustration concept. This interdisciplinary collaboration between the authors, man and machine not only strengthens the link between music and digital art, but also enriches the aesthetic experience of the work, creating a space for formal speculation where new methodologies for working and research in art emerge. Furthermore, this process of creation allows different works to unfold into by-products, generating a network of meanings and artistic possibilities.  

Belphegor, from the Assyrian Baal-Peor (Baal worshipped at Mount Peor) is one of the princes of Hell associated with one of the Christian seven deadly sins — Sloth. His domain covers discoveries, seductions, apathy and quarrels, according to diverse authors (Milton, Machiavelli to quote a few). His preferred method of corruption is proposing incredible inventions or discoveries that will make his lazy worshippers rich in an easy way. This particular devil has a number associated with his persona — Belphegor’s prime. 

The belphegor’s prime, also represented by an inverted Pi symbol, is 1000000000000066600000000000001 with enormous superstitious significance, besides being a palindromic prime (sometimes called palprime). A prime number is a natural number greater than one that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A palindromic number is a number that remains the same when reversed, in other words, a  mirror. This number contains the number 666 surrounded on both sides by thirteen zeros, starting and ending with one one. This number was first discovered by the mathematician Harvey Dubner (1928-2019) when he was trying to find large prime numbers and prime number forms.

In Belphegor’s Prime we are confronted with three instances, the Ones, the Zeros, and the Sixes, all of them using stretched sounds (reaffirming the Sloth sin). The form of this piece will introduce the history of Opera and its historical roots in the Cantatas, Oratorios and Plain chant.  Each of these instances as its own characteristics according to the numbers of Belphegor’s prime. In the Ones we find stretched pastiches of Haydn’s Creation. The Zeros are stretched and granular pastiches of Gregorian Chant and Medieval Chant (Mass of Peace and Thomas Tallis), and the Sixes are two of the best known operas of 19th century (you will probably know them… if not, you will probably earn the attention of Belphegor himself!). This approach is negentropic and rizomatic, each instance overlaps in an ordained chaos.

P.S.: There is a choir that helps the listener by singing the numbers One and Six, followed by an anvil being struck. The author is not responsible for any demon/devil summoning, so will not be responsible of any material, mental or organic damage. Please listen to the piece with, literally, a grain of salt (pun intended).  (Pina, 2024)

Technical Synopsis:

Title:  Belphegor’s Prime

Composer:  Cláudio de Pina
Duration: 13’31’’ in stereo, for multichannel contact the author via summoning circle. D.G.

Year: 2024

Cláudio de Pina  is a featured resident artist in the project Negentropy Nexus, curated by Hugo Paquete and organized by Absonus Lab for 2024. This cutting-edge initiative brings together artists exploring themes of entropy, information theory, and complex systems in contemporary art practices. 

The “Belphegor's Prime” project is accompanied by concept art developed by Hugo Paquete and the Absonus Lab creative team, conceived as a scenography concept. In this process, the use of artificial intelligence plays a fundamental relational role in the construction of the stage design and concept art, enabling the exploration of new aesthetic and creative possibilities. This interdisciplinary collaboration between the authors, man and machine not only strengthens the link between music and digital art, but also enriches the aesthetic experience of the work, creating a space for formal speculation where new methodologies for working and research in art emerge. Furthermore, this process of creation allows different works to unfold into by-products, generating a network of meanings and artistic possibilities.  

"Performanthropica," developed within the online residency "Negentropy Nexus: Reimagining Electronic Opera - Art and Technology in the Post-Digital Age," is an experimental meta-project that explores the intersection of performance, art, and technology, framed by the aesthetic and conceptual realms of hyperobjects, speculative futures, and post-digital aesthetics. The project thrives within the boundaries between performative visual art and technology, exploring creative possibilities in the post-digital era.

At its core, "Performanthropica" is an interactive generative system entirely programmed in Processing 4. The system is customizable at the software level, offering a flexible platform for artists and performers to engage with it in unique ways. What makes "Performanthropica" unique is its ability to respond in real time to the gestures of the performer, captured by the computer's webcam, as well as through the use of the keyboard to manipulate several functions and parameters. This creates a dynamic, ever-evolving interaction between human and machine, where each performance becomes a singular artistic expression, irreproducible in its precise form. The system's real-time responsiveness ensures that the gestures, movements, and spoken words of the performer directly shape the visual output, generating a continuous dialogue between performer and artwork.

The project situates itself within the speculative landscapes of hyperobjects – entities that transcend human understanding and temporal scales – inviting performers and audiences to contemplate the larger, interconnected systems in which we exist. The post-digital aesthetic is central to this work, acknowledging the saturation of digital technologies, augmented imagery and glitches in contemporary culture while moving beyond their superficial applications to explore deeper, more speculative engagements with poetry and self-expression.

By integrating spoken word performance with an algorithmically generated environment, "Performanthropica" posits new ways to redefine contemporary performance. It challenges conventional notions of fixed compositions or scripted narratives, replacing them with a fluid, performative space where art, technology, and human presence continually redefine one another. This project offers a forward-thinking approach to performance art, suggesting new modes of expression and interaction in a rapidly evolving digital and post-digital world.

As a proof of concept/pilot of "Performanthropica", the author presents "Anacreontic", a performative rendition of 17th Century English lyric poet and cleric Robert Herrick. 

Technical aspects

Medium: interactive digital performative system, delivering a visual stream 

Sound: live sound + processed sound

Video: real-time video processing and generative animation

Image: real-time processed captures and image synthesis 

Year: 2024

Pedro Alves da Veiga is a featured resident artist in the project Negentropy Nexus, curated by Hugo Paquete and organized by Absonus Lab for 2024. This cutting-edge initiative brings together artists exploring themes of entropy, information theory, and complex systems in contemporary art practices.