multimedia performance, be, 2025

while everday familiarities are collapsing (climate breakdown, the pre-pandemic ‘normal’, …), the virtual world has further colonized our experience of reality. a near future awaits in which our experience of reality will be increasingly punctuated by moments where real life and fictional realities seamlessly blend together: hyperreal moments where actual and synthetic realities implode into each other.

The Desert of the Real stands at the intersection of art, science, and technology. through virtual reality glasses, you’re not just an observer but a participant, stepping into a realm that challenges our perception of reality. it’s a journey that oscillates between the acoustic and the electronic, the physical and the immaterial, the real and the virtual. the performance is a seamless blend of concert, virtual reality, and installation art, creating an immersive experience that prompts introspection about our evolving role in a changing ecosystem.

credits
media art, film: Jeroen Cluckers
sculptures, scenography: A. De Causmaecker
composition, piano, electronics: Michaël Verlinden
composition, cello, electronics: Jasmijn Lootens
music technology: Maarten Craeynest

a coproduction between Concertgebouw Brugge, Studio Radiaal, studio.POC & the Immersive Lab of AP University of Applied Sciences and Arts Antwerp (BE). with the support of Maxlab, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, LUCA School of Arts / KU Leuven, Leuven (BE) & the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) of the Government of Flanders (BE)

the world premiere will take place on 14 & 15 May 2025 at Concertgebouw Brugge.

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