Eudaimonia

Eudaimonia (trans. ‘Happiness’) is a self – contained system in which the technology appears as part of an extended nervous system, both contradicting and supporting the human effort in its centre. As the performers step into the inner circle of hardware, their movements generate and manipulate an electro-acoustic feedback. Spinning words of hope, desire, doubt and prayer trace across their bodies, triggered by a software that responds to the alterations of sound. Cause and effect can no longer be identified as every action changes the environment, and every change in the environment affects the actions within. In this touching examination of the real and the ideal, the banal and the beautiful, ancient classical iconographies are juxtaposed with the ephemeral qualities of video. There are fleeting visitations of greatness, goodness, peace and moments of extreme struggle, pain, and failure. All the time the shifting images of the video monitors show themselves as external daimonic commentaries providing singular but constantly changing viewpoints of the performers success or failure. Eudaimonia varies in length and the audience is encouraged to come close and experience the environment from all sides, move around it and walk in and out of the location. The work is suitable for galleries and studio spaces either as a single event or as part of a larger programme or festival. Eudaimonia has been performed as the launch events for Exeter tEXt Festival, Port Eliot Litfest and the Anti-Static Festival, Brewhouse Arts Centre, Taunton and as part of DRHA 07 and Intimacy – across Digital and Visceral Performance, Goldsmiths Digital Studios, London.

For more information visit http://www.blindditch.org/projects/eudaimonia/