Experimental

  • Fringe Festival

Conduit Bodies

An autobiographical memoir blending live performance with revolutionary technology.

A photo of Melinda on stage, sitting in her wheelchair. She has short, sandy blonde hair, pale skin and is looking up towards the ceiling. She is wearing an orange jumpsuit and a long-sleeved top underneath with an abstract pattern in blue, pink, purple and orange. She sits in front of a dark, projected background image of a forest with tall trees. There is a typewriter on a stand to the left and a partially visible drumkit to the right.
Past Event

Image Credit: Nicole Tsourlenes

  • Created and Performed by: Melinda Smith

  • Presented by: Melbourne Fringe and Arts House in association with Arts Centre Melbourne - Alter State

Performed by dancer, poet and visual artist Melinda Smith, and instrument inventor, composer and percussionist Alon Ilsar, Conduit Bodies explores the relationship between technology and the body, disability, assistive tech and the natural world.

In Conduit Bodies, Smith straps ‘Airsticks’ to both her body and wheelchair, taking us on a journey which challenges what constitutes dance and who dance is for.

The ‘Airsticks’ are an adaptable and wearable musical instrument which translate movement into sound, text and visuals. Co-designed and created by Dr Alon Ilsar, the ‘Airsticks’ combine the latest in motion tracking and wireless technologies to give immediate control over gestural data with fascinating transparency for audiences.

As Smith pushes beyond the constraints of expectation and towards expressive and communicative mastery, the work blossoms into an ecstatic crescendo of movement, explosive sound and visuals.

Unique, innovative and insightful, Conduit Bodies challenges stereotypes and preconceptions of disability, invites us to consider the limitations of form and presents us with a new frontier of live performance.

ARTISTIC CREDITS
Lead Artist/Performer: Melinda Smith
Composer/Performer/Instrument Inventor: Alon Ilsar
Interactive Media Artist: Sam Trolland
Creative Producer/Dramaturg: Zoe Boesen
Co-Producer: Hannah Reekie
Lighting Designer: Bronwyn Pringle
Production Designer: Jessamine Moffett
Original Costume Designer: Anna Cordingley
Movement Director: Jo Dunbar

This project received Cash to Create through the Fringe Fund, as part of Radical Access. 

If Melbourne Fringe's ticket allocation is exhausted, please try visiting the venue website.

artshouse.com.au