Zangezi – Experiments
«Zangezi Experiments» is a media-based performance based on the early 20th century Futurist poet Velimir Khlebnikov’s experimental 1922 poem-play. Telling the story of ha guru/politician/prophet-like character who lives among and speaks to the birds, trees, gods and stars, the prophet conveys his world shaking visions through a radically playful use of language, combining sounds, and linguistic experiments, while struggling to make comprehensible these languages of the more than human world to his followers. Since 2023, the artists/researchers of the Immersive Arts Space at the ZhdK have been experimenting with Khebnikov’s radical text which examines themes of language, war, interspecies communication and cosmic philosophy.
Rarely staged, this total artwork is originally set in the turbulent aftermath of WWI, and the Russian revolution. Yet, Zangezi’s core themes – how new forms of communication can transcend human understanding – find renewed resonance in our world of technological, geopolitical, and planetary upheaval. filled with machines that also produce new languages and meaning.
Biography
The Immersive Arts Space (IASpace) at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) is a cross-departmental, interdisciplinary lab focused on a critical approach to new technologes through art and design and a critical approach to art and design through new technologies. Consisting of a team of research associates- with expertise in interaction design, game design, computer music, film production, computer science, performance studies and practice and sociology of science, the IASpace explores digital immersion, XR, AI and the convergence of media-based and performative practices while socially-critically reflecting on these practices. Performers: Corrine Soland, Luana Volet, Antonia Meier Direction: Chris Salter: Sound: Pascal Lund Jensen Light: Sebastien Schiesser Image: Stella Speziali and Valetin Huber Producer: Kristina Jungic