“Voyagers” is a permanent audio video installation by The Light Surgeons for the National Maritime Museum’s new Sammy Ofer Wing. The Voyagers Gallery acts as an introduction to the extraordinary depth and range of the Museum’s collections and is dominated by a 20 metre wave-like structure that stretches the full length of the room. Designed by exhibition designers Real Studio, this 3D wave is made up of 26 triangular facets and features a Pufferfish spherical projector at one end.

Using the triangular shape as a design template The Light Surgeons researched and meta tagged over 300 images and films from the Museum’s vast archives and translated them into a series of thematic visual journeys that unfold down the wave. As these designs cascade down the room, the globe projection displays thematic key words relating to each asset in the journey onto a digital navigational device inspired by the museums collection of armillary spheres.

For this technically complex project The Light Surgeons collaborated with media artist James George from New York studio Flightphase to translate their concepts into code based design. The resulting bespoke software was built using open source coding platform openFrameworks and lead to many new ground breaking developments; allowing the design of the installation to be explored in a simulated environment before the gallery was built and then to seamlessly video map the complex geometry of the wave structure upon its arrival. This collaboration also lead to many exciting developments in the creative process including the creation of a totally generative sea of typography and its interaction with the movement of the spherical Puffersphere design.

The resulting experience is a truly immersive one that takes its audience on a audio visual journey through a multitude of different themes explored by the museums collections.

The Light Surgeons where commissioned create the visuals for the after party for prestigious Design & Art Direction Awards at the Roundhouse in London in 2010. The bespoke visuals were inspired by the theme ‘tools of the trade’ and combined generative, processing visuals that where mixed with motion graphics.

The event also featured live sets by Fyfe Dangefeld and Chew Lips for whom we also provided visuals.

Directed by Chris Allen
Filmed by Chris Allen and Dean G Moore
Edited by Jude Greenaway and Dean G Moore
Programming by Olivier Reullet
Live mixing on the night Chris Allen and Olivier Ruellet
Produced by Alice Ceresole

Documentation edited by Dean G Moore
Music:  Opiuo “The Freaky Bean”

With thanks to London College of Communications who let us film their fantastic letter presses.

This audio visual installation was produced in collaboration with Ron Arad associates and commissioned by fashion company Notify for the Pitti Uomo 77 men’s fashion fair in Florence in 2010. The project explores the various manufacturing processes involved in the production of Notify jeans and shoes, turning these hand made and mechanical processes into an abstract piece of futurist art. The final installation used a 30 metre long wall of 6mm pitch LED covered with a thin membrate of plastic with an additional set of video projection over the top. The peice was on display for 5 days during the fashion fair.

Camera & Direction: Chris Allen, Jude Greenaway & Barney Steel
Editing: Jude Greenaway & Jolyon Greenaway
Motion: Jolyon Greenaway
Music: digitalaudiodesign.co.uk
Production: Alice Ceresole & Miranda Davis

In July 2008 The Light Surgeons were commissioned to design and create the visual content for the international launch event of Blackberry’s new 3G mobile, the “Blackberry Bold“. The event took place in London’s Convent Garden with a host of A list guests, a DJ set from Hotchip and a live set by The Feeling.

The visual production took the form of a series of animated sequences. These connected different people in different cities around the world with graphical animations that used motion tracking software laid over documentary footage filmed in different cities around the world. The final material was presented on a set of three beautiful 4mm LED screens supplied by Creative Technology.

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Direction: Christopher Thomas Allen
Animation: Tim Cowie, Jude Greenaway & Toby Harris
Producer: Annie Kwan

“The Living Room” was an art installation commissioned by the Watermans Arts Centre in Brentford, London in 2005. The Project drew from a variety of material gathered through systematic research focusing on a selection of 8 homes and their occupants. Presented as a collection of documentary films, audio interviews, photography and print works; this multimedia art exhibition addressed peoples’ individuality through the looking glass of their living spaces.

This installation was later developed and expanded into a larger exhibition entitled “Domestic Archaeology” at the Geffrye Museum in east London in 2006.

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Concept: Chris Allen & Robert Rainbow
Collaborating Artists: Chris Allen, Robert Rainbow, Brede Korsmo, Jude Greenaway and Tim Cowie
Producer Alice Ceresole

This installation was exhibited in the Marconi Gallery in Milan in 2003 as part of an exhibition of new furniture by designer Ron Arad. Using the translucency of a material called Corian, Ron Arad Associates created a mysteriously illuminated wall and round table by hand plugging thousands of individual of optic fibers just below the materials surface. These optic fibers were then gathered together and light was transmitted to their ends embedded in the Corian via a projector.

These surfaces where then brought to life and illuminated with abstract studies of motion. Collisions of orbiting particles explored the convex form of the table while flocks of birds migrated across the gallery wall. The combined effect was a surreal, futuristic landscape that pulsed in reaction to an audio sound track featuring material by DJ Food and sound design by Scanone.

This installation has also been shown at other international art & design festivals including the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennial in 2004.

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Produced and Directed By Christopher Thomas Allen
Visual contributions by Brede Korsmo
Animation by Jude Greenaway
Additional sound design by Scanone

In 2006 the legendary Rolling Stones used some visual samples from The Light Surgeons short film Thumbnail Express for the visuals for their global tour. All the visual content for the tour was curated by onedotzero industries.

Original film directed by Christopher Thomas Allen & Jude Greenaway

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

The following audio tracks and stills are taken from various international live performances:

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True Fictions is performed by:

Christopher Allen (audio & video)
Tim Cowie (audio & video) Malcom Litson (audio & analogue operations)
Jude Greenaway (audio)
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
The Others, Hackney Film Festival, London, September 2010
Freeform Festival, Warsaw, Poland, October, 2010

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, Mark McRae & 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:

The Art of War was an audio visual remix project commission by onedotzero festival for a live event in Singapore in June 2006. The Light Surgeons were invited to remix the new album by local musicians the Tang Quartet.

Jude Greenaway, AKA Scanone took the audio challenge on by creating a new Appleton Live set fusing the Tang’s classical sounds with his own distinctive brand of UK dub step. This became the dark and broken sound track to an audio visual wreckage by TLS’ director Chris Allen.

The resulting show collides images of the worlds stock exchanges with a range of classic cinematic audio visual fragments, exploring the distorted history of war on screen and its connections with consumption, thus making comment on how Sun Tzu’s famous book has become a new bible for business strategy and our capitalist society.

Touring:
Zouk Club, onedotzero_singapore, 2006
Climatics 06 AV Festival, Brussels, 2006

Artists: Christopher Thomas Allen & Jude Greenaway