Brilliant Universe

An experimental audio-visual trilogy, manifested as an outdoor installation

Two artists separated by 5100 miles, weave a story of resilience, rebirth and mysterious beauty; drawn out in the high plains and canyons of Northern New Mexico, and the thorny & thick ranchlands of West Texas.

Margaret R. Thompson & Siddharth Pathak have never met in person, but the harsh winds of the pandemic swept them into one fold of creative exploration out of which was born “Brilliant Universe” - a collaborative exchange, a give and take and sharing of two worlds, to build a new one. Both the artists dive deeper into their personal histories to outline universal connections with the land, one through poetry & performance, and the other through sound & music.

The experimental work of video art walks hand in hand with the sonic essay taking viewers through a hero’s journey that tackles many subjects such as multi-species interconnection, nature, isolation, loneliness, challenges, suffering, pain, atonement, peace, and ascension, tying all of it together with the strength of eternal universal oneness.

Experimental Film, Costume Design & Performance - Margaret R. Thompson

Sound Art/Design, Musique Concrète & Composition - Siddhartha

Currents New Media 2022
CCA Santa Fe, NM

Interactive Sound Art & World Building

EarthSynth "Trash Soup"- is a contextual conceptual musical instrument/sound sculpture/sonic object. It is powered by two Teensy & Arduino synthesizers I've built from scratch. Out of which, one is controlled by proximity.

It is a message, a mirror; the outer casing/structure is built from recycled/up-cycled materials, made to resemble anemones, jellyfish and other creatures of the deep. It is angry about all the things we throw into the sea.

It hates us, and this first song by Trash Soup is called "Screw you from the deep".

This instrument is the outcome of the Experimental Instrument Design course I took with sonologist Rafaele M. Andrade and the Instrument Inventors Initiative.

"The Body Is A Cage" - 6:35

In April 2022, Gong Won and me carried out a collaborative performance research project at the Institut für Alles Mögliche, in Berlin. The construction of an interactive sonic environment, concept/story, and the sound design was done by me, and Gong Won (Su-young Park) a South Korean movement/performance artist brought the environment to life. The fully interactive sonic environment is accompanied by live sound/musical improvisation. What you see here is a composite demonstration video of the intended performance.

The sonic environment is a carefully planned network of exposed wires and copper tape - connected to several hubs on the floor, and extending to the walls, finally connected to my laptop. As the performer's bare body completes the circuits, the samples are triggered. Each triggered sound leads intuitively into the performer's next movement. The performer's body + the active floor & wall grid effectively turn the entire space into one giant, interactive MIDI controller. For this exploration, the body is our source of inspiration, and it begins with the poem "Starry Night" by Dong-Ju Yoon, followed by statements about the human body, and then finally culminating with a poem written by Gong won herself.

Made entirely from scrap and packaging materials, the MIDI Cage is a MIDI controller the performer can sit inside, and play. It is accompanied with "Halo's Edge" which is a performance mark with MIDI integration and instrumentation capabilities.

The performance mask is also made out of recycled materials, and can be used to trigger capacitive touch instruments. It also illuminates every space I walk into!