LDN24 is a media art installation by The Light Surgeons for the Museum of London‘s Sackler Hall. It presents an anthropomorphic portrait of London that reveals the abstract dance of this 24-hour city. It explores the capital as a physical organism and its hidden relationship with a larger, digital landscape, creating a cardiogram of the city that perpetually reflects the ‘now’.

The film was created by a group of visual artist through an extensive series of visual studies around London in 2009. The resulting 30 minute film charts a daily cycle of the city which is then translated onto the surrounding LED curatin as a stream of live data feeds. These information feeds are being continually updated via the web and continually re-printed by the hands of a giant RGB clock.

LDN24 is a commission by the Museum of London in collaboration with Film London.

Director: Christopher Allen
Producer: Alice Ceresole
Editor: Tim Cowie
Visual Production: Christopher Allen, Tim Cowie, Dean Moore, James Price, Rita Ribas, Stuart York
Data Visualisation: Field.io
Sound Design: Tim Cowie, Malcolm Litson
Locations: Alice Ceresole, Dan Fellows
Research: Peter Brenan, Laura Hannay
Production Assistant: Helen Omand

Support from:

BAA Heathrow, Broadgate Estates, Regis House (London Bridge), Bywaters, City Academy Hackney, City of London Corporation, Billingsgate Market, City of London Film Office, City of London Police, Smithfield Market, Clissold Leisure Centre, Cory Environmental Limited, Film London, Greater London Authority, Invista Real Estate, Investment Management, Land Securities, IPC Helipad, London Borough Film Units, London Underground Film Office, More London Estates Ltd, Network Rail, Newsfax International Ltd, Novotel London St Pancras, Panasonic UK, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tesco

Special thanks to:

Bob and Maggie Allen, Kevin Foakes, Helen Omand, Ed Purver, Olivier Ruellet, Laura Hannay, Victoria Tremble
The installation will be on display in the museum until 2012 and is free entry to the public.

Truth Movements is a short film taken from The Light Surgeons live audio-visual performance True Fictions. It weaves a tangled web of conspiracies theories, divergent views and public oratory from the 5th anniversary of 911 together into a escalating argument about truth.

The film contrasts two points of view, protesters who want to re-investigate 911 and those who oppose their intervention outside the memorial on this national day of morning. The conversation flits from person to person as the exchanges of opinions become increasingly passionate and emotional. A group of US marines berate a crowd who proclaim that 911 was an “inside job”. Their heated exchanges reveal how even contemporary events are fought over and continue to be manipulated for commercial and political motives.

These conflicting opinions are musically scored with a building vibraphone melody, live drums and an Oud solo by Mavrothi Kontanis. This middle eastern instrument points a figure to the US response to these tragic events.Original footage, stills and interviews recorded at ground zero by Christopher Thomas Allen & Robert Pyecroft-Rainbow in 2006.

TRUE FICTIONS is result of a year long digital performance art project produced and directed by Christopher Thomas Allen and commissioned by EMPAC, The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Centre in Troy, New York.

The project was supported by The Jaffe Fund for Experimental Media and Performing Arts.

For more information, video and still images of True Fictions please check: http://www.avfolklore.blogspot.com
More video excerpts from the live performances can be viewed here: http://www.vimeo.com/lightsurgeons

Produced & Directed by Christopher Thomas Allen
Camera & interviews by Christopher Thomas Allen & Robert Pyecroft-Rainbow
Edited by Christopher Thomas Allen , Tim Cowie & James Price
Musical arrangement by Tim Cowie & Mark McRae
Oud by Mavrothi Kontanis
Drums by Brian Fishler

This film was created entirely from the waste collected and produced during the Sapporo ICC International Creative Workshop 2008 that took place between 4th -14th March 2008.The project was led by artists Christoher Thomas Allen, Tim Cowie and James Price working in collaboration with producer Youki Mikami and the ICC.

The resulting piece of work was informed through the ingenuity, creativity and collaboration of the workshops 16 participants. The Intercross Creative Center (ICC) is a Sapporo based supportive institution for creators, inviting top creative Talent from in and outside of Japan to hold an international workshop every year.

The themes explored in the workshop and this film are ‘local living & global environment’ and ‘between culture and civilization: everyone’s story’. The film was distributed as a DVD the international press and general public during the G8 summit in Sapporo in June 2008.

In December 2006 The Light Surgeons produced and curated a cross-disciplinary art exhibition on the south bank that was commissioned by Nokia Nseries. Articulated was a group show that brought together a cross section of artists from different practices and organizations to transform London’s OXO Barge House with a series of multimedia installations, a cinema space, talks and creative interventions into the surrounding area.

Articulated explored our relationship to space with a collection of commissioned and curated works that engaged with the public through interviews and debate. Each of these works investigated the human condition through the real or imagined boundaries of our everyday lives.

It was a truly unique collaboration which explored the thresholds between public and private space, unraveling a multitude of human stories from London’s cultural metropolis.

ARTICULATED

Exhibition Signage: Millimetre

OBJECTS OF NO FIXED ABODE

Mixed media installation: Pete Codling

I’VE BEEN PLACES I’VE NEVER VISITED

Director: Russel Harris

Live Performance piece which took place in and around the Barge House and along the Southbank.

TRANSIT

Mixed media installation: Christopher Thomas Allen

PROTOCOL

Photographic & Video Installation

Featuring Photography by Chris Allen, Alice Ceresole, Lenka Clayton, Paul O’Connor, Brede Korsmo & James Price
Video Installation By Bilal Main

SINGLE STORY BUILDING

Interactive installation: Blast Theory, created in 2002.

TRUE COLD

Video installation: Blast Theory, created in 2002.

HOMAGE TO THE LOST

Video installation: Brede Korsmo

CITY FOR GRANTED

Video Installation: Tim Cowie

Interviews and field Recordings by Chris Allen, Brede Korsmo, Annie Kwan, James Price & Rob Rainbow
Photography by Chris Allen, Brede Korsmo, Annie Kwan, James Price & Rob Rainbow

CONVERSATION

Video installation: James Price & Lenka Clayton

This installation has also been edited as a film and has toured extensively appearing at international festivals including:
Britdoc, Oxford, July 2007
Hotdocs, Toronto, Canada. PDX, Portland, Oregon, USA, April 2008
Iranian International Documentary Festival, Tehran, October 2008
FLEXfest, Gainsville, Florida, USA, 2009

DIALOG

Mixed media installation: Christopher Thomas Allen

This installation continues to tour art exhibitions internationally:

Out Side The Box, Cornerhouse Gallery, Manchester, England, 2007
Media_City Seoul 2008 – the 5th International Media Art Biennale, Seoul, South Korea, 2008
Biennale Cuvee 09, A World Selection Of Contemporary Art, Linz, Austria, 2009

DEBATE

Mixed media installation: Christopher Thomas Allen & James Price

FROM CEREALS COME CIVILISATION

Video installation: Robert Rainbow

FOOD FOR LIVING THINGS

Mixed media installation: Robert Rainbow

CERBERES

Photographic installation: Marion Lefebvre

ARTICULATED LOUNGE

On the top floor of the exhibition there was an interactive lounge space and cinema curated by onedotzero festival. This contained interactive terminals with archive material supplied by the British Film Institute, sound installations by audio artist Scanner, a program of short films shown in a cinema space with additional screening programs from Halloween Society and a series of talks by guest speakers including the writer Ian Sinclair.

Concept: Christopher Thomas Allen, Robert Pyecroft-Rainbow & Annie Kwan
Curator: Christopher Thomas Allen
Producer: Annie Kwan

Curated by Christopher Thomas Allen as part of the Articulated Exhibition.

Photography by: by Chris Allen, Marion Lefebvre, Alice Ceresole,
Lenka Clayton, Paul O’Connor, Brede Korsmo & James Price

True Fictions is the result of a year long digital performance art project, produced and directed by Christopher Thomas Allen and commissioned by EMPAC, The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Centre in Troy, New York.

It is a live audio visual spectacle that fuses documentary film making, music, animation and motion graphics with cutting edge digital performance tools. A stunning collage of music and live cinema which explores the themes of truth and myth through a multitude of American and Native American voices; with a original musical score created through the collaborations of 25 New York based musicians and vocal artists.

The final performance was completed and presented in September 2007 at EMPAC and has gone on to tour other media & arts festivals internationally.

For more back ground information about how this project was devloped please visit: http://www.avfolklore.blogspot.com
For more video excerpts from the project please visit: http://vimeo.com/channels/truefictions

_

True Fictions is currently being performed by:

Christopher Allen (audio & video)
Tim Cowie (audio & video)
Malcom Litson (audio & analogue operations)
Mark McRae (live guitars & keys)
Matt Waterfield (lighting & technical support)

Touring:

The Armour, EMPAC, Troy, New York, USA, September, 2007
The Great Hall, Urban Screens Festival, Manchester, UK, October, 2007
Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Milano, Italy, November, 2007
ZEMOS98 Festival, Seville, Spain, March, 2008
IMAX Cinema, onedotzero festival, BFI Southbank, London, November, 2008
Brighton Pavilion, Loop Festival, Brighton, July, 2009
Waterfront, TRANS Festival, Captalist Arts, Belfast, July, 2009
Rotuda3, HITEC, Mirowave Festival, Hong-Kong, November, 2009

Project Produced & Directed by Christopher Thomas Allen

Cinematography: Christopher Thomas Allen & Robert Pyecroft-Rainbow
Photography:Christopher Thomas Allen, Robert Pyecroft-Rainbow & Helen Omand
Edited: Christopher Thomas Allen, James Price & Tim Cowie
Animation: Martin Banks, Tim Cowie & Blinkinlab
Audio Interviews: Christopher Thomas Allen, Robert Pyecroft-Rainbow & Jo Williamson
Assistant Producer: Annie Kwan
NYC Production Co-ordination: Sarah Pace
Research & location Production: Helen Omand
Studio Sound Recording & Initial Arrangements: Ben Allen
Music Production & Arrangements: Tim Cowie
Addition Audio Production: Malcom Litson & Jude Greenaway

Special thanks to:

The Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, Salamanca
The Ronathahonni Cultural Center, Cornwall Island, Ontario
Nichols Meat Processing, Altamont, NY
David Lublin & Ray Cutler at VIDVOX
Kathleen Forde, Jason Steven Murphy and all the staff at EMPAC

An EMPAC Commission supported by The Jaffe Fund for Experimental Media and Performing Arts NY

New York Musical Contributors:

In 2002 The Light Surgeons played two sell-out shows of their live cinema performance All Points Between at the Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. The events generated such interest that the Tyneside Cinema invited The Light Surgeons to do a residency project in Newcastle.

TLS applied their self-sampling aesthetic to a different kind of filmmaking and took inspiration from the Surrealist parlour game of exquisite corpse. Their idea was to create a portrait of a city through a creative collaboration with its local inhabitants – artists, musicians, writers, photographers and animators observing and commenting on their own city. The films structure would then evolve through a process of mass observation – each participating artist creating elements of the final collage that would represented a chimera of the city. The finished films were also remixed and performed live alongside the original musical scores composed for each film.

The Chimera Project: Newcastle & Gateshead (Duration 28 minutes)

The first experiment brought together Newcastle based artists: Christo Wallers, Jackie Scollen, Steve Bird, Laura Reid, James Postlethwaite, Huw Thomas, Michael Jeffries, Peter Clark, David McClure, Alex McGregor, and Tom Bland. The project was run over a six month period through a series of workshops.

The resulting film is a psychogeographical map of the city through interviews, field recordings, animations and audiovisual tracks. It reflects the city’s people: their hopes and cynicism towards their bid to become European city of culture, their military and seafaring heritage, and their love of football – capturing its fast changing architectural landscape.

Edited by Chris Allen, James Price, and Jude Greenaway

The performance was commissioned and developed by onedotzero festival and was toured internationally between 2001 and 2003.

APB: A WORLD OF EXTORTION

APB: SO YOU KNOW

APB: A PENNY IN MY POCKET

THE 9TH INNING

APB: WILD MAN OF NEW YORK

APB: THE BOOK OF CHANGES

APB: SUICIDAL MELODIES

Live recording of the performance are documented on the “Lost Leader” DVD, Published by Gasbook in Japan. Three of the original Scanone audio tracks are available on the “Down & out” 12″ record please email info@thelightsurgeons.co.uk.

Touring:
APB (All Points Between)’ onedotzero5, ICA, LONDON – 2001
World Wide Video Festival, Amsterdam – 2001
onedotzero_nottingham, Nottingham, UK – 2002
Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, UK – 2002
B.TV Festival, Sheffield, UK – 2002
onedotzero_manchester / Futuresonic, Manchester, UK – 2002
Roppongi Think Zone, Tokyo, Japan – 2002
onedotzero_sfmoma, San Francisco MOMA, USA – 2002
Electrofringe, NSW, Australia – 2002
onedotzero_munich, Munich, Germany – 2002
Auto Festival, Sheffield, UK – 2002
Visonic AV Festival, Belfast, Ireland – 2003
Pixelache Festival, Helsinki, Finland – 2003

Artists: Chris Allen, Jude Greenaway, James Price & Robert Rainbow

Visuals for the band Zero 7‘s 2004 UK Tour to promote the release of the album “When It Falls”

Directed by Christopher Thomas Allen
Produced by Alice Ceresole
Visual contributions from Andy Flywheel, Brede Korsmo, James Price, Rob Rainbow & Nicola Godlieb
Animation & motion graphics by Jude Greenaway Tour Operations by Andy Firman
Documentation edited by Tim Cowie

In 2002 The Light Surgeons played two sell-out shows of their documentary performance All Points Between at the Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. The events generated such interest, and the Tyneside Cinema invited The Light Surgeons to do a residency project in Newcastle.

TLS sought to apply their self-sampling aesthetic to a different kind of filmmaking and took inspiration from the Surrealist parlour game of exquisite corpse. Their idea was to create a portrait of a city through a creative collaboration with its local inhabitants – artists, musicians, writers, photographers and animators observing and commenting on their own city. The film’s structure would then evolve through a process of mass observation – each participating artist creating elements of the final collage that would represented a chimera of the city. The finished films were also remixed and performed live alongside the original musical scores composed for each film.

The Chimera Project_Middlesborough (Duration 28 minutes)

This film was produced in 2003 as the flagship commission for the first North East AV Festival that brought together the three regional cities of Newcastle, Middlesborough and Sunderland. The project was directed from a production space in the city over that autumn by TLS member James Price as artist in residence and was then edited by The Light Surgeons at their London base.

The local contributing artists were Jamie Macdonald, Nicky Peacock, Clive Tonge, Lindsay Roe, Liz McCormack, Sam Harrison, Rayees Rashid, Robert Page, Russell Smith, Marni Henderson, Katherine O’Connor, Imogen Busby, and Marty Collantine.

The film charts a day in the life of this troubled but proud North East town. The industry that gave birth to the urban area is still very present in the town, but large scale unemployment and misguided governance have given the area terrible problems with deriliction, drugs, and prostitution, and a bad image problem in the country at large. The film looks at the people who choose to live there and how a sense of community, love, home, and hope keep them there.

Producer: Becky Gates
Edited by Chris Allen, James Price, and Jude Greenaway