Exhibition

The Yearning is a mesmeric, high vibration, tuning experience of embodied transformation. To ‘tune in’ to the tree’s message the participant must step out of their reality, spend time in the gallery space and become immersed in this multi-projection, multi-channel, AV installation. The Yearning is a collaboration between cinematic artist Dr Merri Randell, conductor/composer Hugo Pieri, the Hobart VoiceLab:Queer+Allies and iconic trees of kunanyi/Mount Wellington. The amazing multi-channel, looping, harmonic soundscape created by Hugo from VoiceLab experiments, creates a complex and ever-changing conversation with the trees to ensure each participant’s experience is unique and personal.

 

Public program series

Voice Bath

Dates: Saturday 10, 17, 24 June (12pm start time for this event only) & Saturday 1 July

Start Time: 11am (except June 24 event, starting at 12pm)

Duration: 40 minutes

Join us each Saturday at MAC for a unique, meditative experience through vibration, sound and visuals. Wear comfy clothes and bring a yoga mat, water bottle and an open mind to allow your body to ‘tune into’ recordings of spontaneous co-created vocal ensemble compositions.

 

In-Conversation: Dr Merri Randell and Hugo Pieri

Saturday 10 June

Start Time: 12pm (shortly after Voice Bath)

Duration: approx. 1 hour

Please join us at MAC at 12pm on Saturday 10 June for a conversation with the highly talented conductor/composer Hugo Pieri and cinematic artist Dr Merri Randell to discuss their collaboration with the Hobart VoiceLab:Queer+Allies for their mesmeric exhibition The Yearning.

 

In-Conversation: Hobart VoiceLab:Queer+Allies

Saturday 24 June

Time: 11am

Duration: approx. 1 hour

Please join us at MAC for a conversation with members of the Hobart VoiceLab:Queer+Allies to discuss the development of their mesmeric exhibition The Yearning.

 

Artist bios

Dr Merri Randell is a cinematic artist and shameless tree hugger who has travelled, lived and worked all over the world. She is a NeuroDivergent, NonBinary Lesbian of colour who lives and works on the lands of the Muwinina people in nipaluna/Hobart. She creates worlds full of beautiful, abject monstrosities that seduce, beguile and disturb by working in distorted realities – combining digitally manipulated, hyper-real photographs of under-represented native forests and swamps with human sounds and uncanny motion design to create immersive, compulsive, kairological Sisyphean cycles to celebrate diversity.

Hugo Pieri is a Queer professional Brazilian musician, singer, performer, teacher, conductor, composer and soundscape improviser. He has studied Yoga, Biodanza, Somatherapy, Shambhala Meditation and has academic degrees in Conducting, Singing and Teaching from Germany, France and Brazil. He started the VoiceLab with Merri and Richard Dearden, as an invitation for Queer people to explore the expansion of their unique individual sound-body. From a centred place of trust and joy, each individual tunes and surrenders to the group-sound-body which unifies the group to experience oneness while maintaining uniqueness. Hugo draws on this group-sound-body as the raw material to create ephemeral elementary structures which manifest and disappear, like mandalas – again and again to nothingness.

Credits
Hobart VoiceLab: Queer+Allies :
Richard Dearden
Mike Brady
Lili Calitz
Oliver Cassidy
Kaikai Tang
Suzy Cooper
Emmanuelle Decourty
Jane Dunsford
Tessa Hutchison
Iona Johnson
Heather Jones
Felicity Smart
Brian Wyatt
Sound Engineer: Gabriel Brennan

Hobart VoiceLab:Queer+Allies is generously supported by the Bellendena Small Grants Scheme.

The Yearning is supported by the Tasmania Government.