Wo kommen wir hin. Moving Sand / Topos

Even if we could keep the machines in a subservient position, for instance by turning off the power at strategic moments, we should, as a species, feel greatly humbled... Alan Turing, 1951

We had better be quite sure that the purpose put into the machine is the purpose we really desire. Norbert Wiener, 1960

The production Moving Sand / Topos by composer and musician Floros Floridis and filmmaker Jeanine Meerapfel is an audiovisual essay that combines film, music, dance and text.

Artificial intelligence is ubiquitous and continues to have a radical effect on nearly all areas of human life. This work pinpoints the changes and consequences that result from an ever-increasing use of artificial intelligence – how it impacts our lives and relationships to the rest of the world. Such changes that influence our perception of a “topos” (and its varied levels of meaning) inspired this audiovisual essay. Moving Sand / Topos builds on an experimental format that the two artists previously developed for the Akademie production Confusion / Diffusion (2015). It uses diverse media to investigate differing narrative forms, their limitations and where they overlap or diverge. Through the combination of film imagery with live, improvised music, dance and fragments from documentary texts, the essay associatively points out how digital mania and technology colonise our daily lives and fundamentally influence the balance between psychological, cognitive and biological aspects of life.

The concept for Moving Sand / Topos was developed by musician and composer Floros Floridis.

Texts and Direction: Jeanine Meerapfel and Floros Floridis

Dance: Jutta Hell and Dieter Baumann (Tanzcompagnie Rubato)

Live Music Improvisation: Floros Floridis (Clarinets) and Elena Kakaliagou (French horn)

Lighting and Set-Design: Siegfried Paul

DoP/Camera: Johann Feindt

Editing: Vasso Floridi

Soundtrack: Floros Floridis

Recording and Sound Editing: Titos Kariotakis and Christos Charmpilas

Following the performance, a discussion between Jeanine Meerapfel, Floros Floridis and Kristoffer Gansing (transmediale) will take place about the idea for this interdisciplinary essay, the work process and the topics it covers.

The event is part of “Wo kommen wir hin”.

The premiere of Moving Sand / Topos will take place on 29 May 2019. Further performances on 30 May and on 31 May 2019.