Surabhi is a new media artist whose work brings together elements from experimental sound art, classical music, choreography and video art. Surabhi lives and works in San Francisco.
// August 30th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Videos, Works
Food Sounds Good is a composition of the sights, sounds, and gestures of cooking. The isolated, juxtaposed, and rearranged steps of cooking come together to produce sonic and gestural movements. They reveal the rhythms of domestic life.
// August 30th, 2008 // No Comments » // News
A Collaborative performance as a part of Goat Island Summer School at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, July,2008.
Performers: Michelle Milne
Surabhi Saraf
Katie Bateman
Brianne Waychoff
// August 30th, 2008 // No Comments » // Performances, Works
Copper Tube is a live networked performance where Surabhi sings at her home in Chicago which is broadcast to the gallery in India using Skype. Independently, a program (written in Max/MSP) tracks the pitch of her voice, that is communicated and played back as MIDI piano notes, along with the live, unprocessed A/V feed. Thus the piano notes are being generated in India as a response to the singing in Chicago. The act of singing becomes a way for the artist to connect to her audience in India. The goal of this performance is to maximize the remote presence, while operating in a potentially resource constrained environment and embracing the everyday issues with long distance communication.
// August 30th, 2008 // No Comments » // Videos, Works
An attempt, using light trails to capture the energy and movements of children in a group, in different activities. Light trails, also depicting a different time frame of the child in comparison with an adult. Patterns of sounds are composed based on the patterns of light, to hold the video in time. The video is essentially a movement through the patterns of lights and sounds, installed at one of the locations of its shoot. This work is in progress.
To build an understanding with the children and know them better I conducted a workshop for a week. The kids come from a background which does not give them any exposure to art, belonging to the age group of 5- 10 years. The workshop was an attempt to initiate them towards drawing and narration through storytelling / illustration exercises.
Video: Surabhi Saraf
Audio: Babul Vazhoor and Aditya Bhatt
// August 30th, 2008 // No Comments » // Performances, Works
This live performance at Khoj, New Delhi, was an experiment of sorts in which compositions were created by recording, modulating, distorting and identifying rhythms and melodies out of the natural sounds of an aging fan. The intention is to create soundscapes through compositional re-structuring and amplification of sounds of objects around us, therefore hinting at the possibility of a subjective, surreal transformation of an everyday space.
The recorded tracks of the fan were mixed with amplified live sounds of the same from the installation space during the performance. The mono speakers played the live sounds whereas the stereo, the pre-composed ones. The space of the installation was defined by the position of the speakers, the volume levels and other effects such as channel pannings. The idea being that the composition is absorbed and experienced as one moves around the premises: the audience is also an unaware but active participant in the whole set up. The experience of the person varies according to where he/she is positioned.
The cables,used to transmit the sounds forms another part of the installation. The cables connecting the speakers were arranged as drawings on the walls — visual web referring to the virtual sound web and leading to the “stage” of this performance: a room, where a video of sound waves were projected on to the fan, which is the generator of the whole installation. A closed loop of ideas.
Performed @ Khoj International Artist association as a part of the Peers’06 Residency
// August 30th, 2008 // No Comments » // News
bumpy road to neemdhan is the title of a painting, as well as a video. media explored in counterpoint, painting and moving images, in time. in rhythm. music. an abstract representation of a scape, in flatness of colors and directionality of lines. movement. with movement of the hand. experiences flattened onto a surface. installed in counterpoint with a video, an animated real life, tracing patters in nature.
The work is the product of a two week winter art camp, at Pachmarhi hills, M.P, culminating as an exhibition of the works of the participating artists at ABS Gallery, Baroda. The video was installed at the mezzanine level, played repetitively in a loop mode.the painting was exhibited in the space right under.
