The Art of Cold War Science

What does espionage, chaos theory and the art of cold war science have in common? You will find out through the adventurous extrapolations of BMB con., Jasna Veličković, and the renowned Joost Rekveld. The evening will be launched on board Veličković’s magnetic synthesizer, followed by Rekveld’s film about a cybernetician in the 1960s, you will then enter the phantasmagorical microsonic theatre of BMB con.

Jasna Veličković

Jasna Veličković (b. 1974) is a Belgrade-born Dutch composer and performer based in Amsterdam. Since 2008 she has been exploring the musical capacities of the magnetic field – induction, interference and electromagnetism – both as the source of sound and the compositional material. That led her to the construction of a new instrument aptly named the Velicon – a specific electronic system consisting of a changeable configuration of magnets and metal objects animated by coils. This preoccupation of hers became an ongoing research artistic project that she dubbed “The Art of Coil“.

BMB con.

For the last 30-odd years, BMB con. have been performing a balancing act between music and noise, sound and vision, indoors and out, digital and analogue, performer and audience, founded by Roelf Toxopeus, Justin Bennett and Wikke ‘t Hooft in 1989. Since 2006 BMB con. consist of a core duo working together with a changing group of invited artists / performers. They incorporate electronic and acoustic music, film, video and physical theatre in their performances and installations. As well as these fleeting, often unique actions, BMB con. make and publish audio CD’s, cassettes, videos and photography.

Joost Rekveld

Joost Rekveld is an artist who is motivated by the question of what we can learn from a dialogue with machines. He explores the sensory consequences of systems of his own design, often inspired by forgotten corners in the history of science and technology. The outcomes of these investigations often take the shape of abstract films that function like alien phenomenologies. In their sensuality they are an attempt to reach an intimate and embodied understanding of our technological world.

His films have been shown world-wide in a wide range of festivals and venues for experimental film including the Tate Modern in London. He has also realized several installations and did many collaborative projects involving composers, music ensembles, theatre companies and dance companies.

Dmitry Gelfand and Evelina Domnitch have been working in tandem since 1998 creating multi-sensory installations and performances prodding the slippery origins of the physical world. The duo’s artworks have emerged through unorthodox collaborations with pioneering research groups, including LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory), RySQ (Rydberg Atom Quantum Simulator), and Aerospace Engineering (TU Delft).

Obviously Unthinkable is presented by iii with financial support from Creative Industries Fund NL and The Municipality of The Hague.