Experimental Universe
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
6 February 2014, 6:00-9:00pm
Experimental Universe is a program of events featuring films, music and performances created by Australian artists responding to Yoko Ono’s rarely-visited instructional works, Six Film Scripts (1964) and Imaginary Film Series (1968). Running over two nights (6 February and 13 February) the program also includes two film screenings of early Yoko Ono films, Apotheosis (1970) and Two Virgins (1968).
Q. Which Yoko piece(s) are you responding to and how?
A. I am taking Yoko Ono’s current day Twitter feed as an unrequited instruction set. I follow Yoko Ono and Yoko Ono follows me.
Q. If we imagine a spectrum in which predetermined structures, scores, instructions sit at one end and spontaneity, intuition, improvisation at the other – where does your work sit in that spectrum? Or is that spectrum faulty to begin with?
A. I have a structure within the walls of the MCA. The technology of the image projection. The design of the seats. We have voice, light, human will. I feel energised by unbridled human energy in tightly controlled environments.
I don’t believe in freedom in art. It can only be given by imposing a structure or rule set upon it. There is no freedom. There is no restraint.
