transmediale.10 Opening Night
Who would have expected a billowing snow storm to gatecrash the launch of transmediale.10 Futurity Now? This however, did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the guests who braved the chill and wind to witness the special opening performance by pioneering American minimalist musician Charlemagne Palestine. Bringing his piece Tintinnabulations For Tomorrow and Tomorrow to life at Tiergarten Carillon provided the ideal setting to kick off a festival examining futurity in a location inherently bound to the concept of time.
Palestine’s beautiful score was complemented by a stunning laser display From One to Many by Yvette Mattern which beamed a spectrum of color across the Berlin night sky and into the distance. The thick mist of unexpected snow created a spectacular flickering of visual noise, which added to the magic of the evening.
Heading back indoors, the celebrations continued with a collaborative performance from Shanghai-based digital artist, aaajiao (Xu Wenkai) and one of Germany’s spearheads in the electronic music scene Byetone (Olaf Bender). The open-source live data-visualizations paired with the minimalist beats took the audience members on a stimulating auditory and visual journey through time, space and across cultures.
If the opening night is anything to go by, the jam-packed program of exhibitions, performances, screenings and workshops over the next few days is sure to not only inspire but perhaps help us question and discover new and alternative ideas of futurity.
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