In Progress/ Forthcoming

Concept, Music & Direction by John Aylward.
Violinist, Jordan Hadrill
Assistant Director & Costumes and Wardrobe, Alexandra Posen
Set by James Maurelle
Director of Photography, Gyani Pradhan Wong Ah Sui.

Genesis is the second in a series of works for instrument and video that I am developing with a team of artists who also specialize in film, intermedia and performance art. 

While in Moondial, a single performer is confronted with their double, Genesis proceeds as a triptych for three individuated performers as organisms. The sense of mirroring and reflection is still present, but more fluid. Gestures between the trio reflect and mirror but also begin to differentiate, allowing opportunities for growth and development occur. And so, in contrast to Moondial's confrontational approach to the double, here the exploration of separateness and otherness is tied to developmental patterns. In Genesis, the relationships are more intertwined, still dependent on each other, but in such a way as to suggest that each body has autonomy: an issue much more obscured in Moondial.

Like Moondial, Genesis is an exploration of how music can be mapped onto ritual. The performance art aspect of these works is derived from mythological sources and the performance practice itself is again inspired by older forms from the Renaissance, Baroque and Medieval eras: the same eras that produced the stringed instruments at the heart of the series. 

Once again, the proximity of the violin to the body is a concern and how the violin can be construed as an outgrowth of all physical gestures is explored. The performers now work along moving planes, rotating, elevating, expanding, and collapsing. The introduction of movement through space is a major departure from Moondial but I see it also as a natural outgrowth. In the reflection field of Moondial, the stasis of the performer is important. Now, the sense of reflection is used as a point of departure that allows for all manner of combination and separation. At the end of Moondial, the autonomy of the players is revealed. This becomes the basis for the beginning of Genesis.

In September, we had an initial workshop for the film. Stills from the workshop are below: