Island Eye Island Ear; Lofoten 2024
Lofoten International Art Festival – LIAF 2024
North Norwegian Art Centre, Svolvær
Opening weekend September 20

American sound pioneer David Tudor's plans of turning an island into a living art installation consisting of sound, sculpture, and choreography remained unrealised for years. The idea for Island Eye Island Ear was conceived in 1974, as a concert based on the natural elements of an island.

The first attempt to realise Island Eye Island Ear was made on Knavelskär in the Stockholm archipelago, exactly fifty years ago, in collaboration with Fujiko Nakaya, Jackie Matisse Margaretha Åsberg; and Billy Klüver and Julie Martin from Experiments in Art and Technology.

Despite several attempts over the years, David Tudor's ambitious project has remained unrealised, until this year: North Norwegian Art Centre and LIAF 2024 partnered with the collective SIAF Lab. and You Nakai, on one of two different interpretations of Island Eye Island Ear; one was developed for Kamome Island in Esashi, Hokkaido; and the other for Svolvær in Lofoten. Earlier this year, the Kamome version IEIE, Reflected: Phase 4 Virtual Ground was presented in a 360 VR-theatre in connection with the Sapporo International Art Festival.

Island Eye Island Ear; Lofoten 2024 will be performed on the south-western part of Svinøya in Svolvær during the opening weekend of LIAF 2024.

Included in the version for Lofoten are the collective SIAF Lab. with Norimichi Hirakawa, Kei Komachiya artistic researcher You Nakai, artist Jacob Kirkegaard, dancer and choreographer Margaretha Åsberg, and Robert Monnier and Gill Eatherly representing Jackie Matisse's Estate.

Research & Development: Kei Komachiya, Katsuya Ishida, Daisuke Funato, Norimichi Hirakawa, all from SIAF Lab., with guest curator Hiroko Myokam, You Nakai and Jacob Kirkegaard.

Advisory board: Julie Martin, Experiments in Art and Technology, Phil Edelstein, Composers Inside Electronics.

Curators: Marianne Hultman and Kjersti Solbakken.

Island Eye Island Ear; Lofoten 2024 has received generous support by EU-Japan Fest, Bodø 2024 and the Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo.