Art and Code Now

6 Australian artists confirmed for the Australia Japan Video Night

Rhys Turner
Sephan Popescue
Danny Coonan
Melissa Ramos
Ebony Bizys
Daniel Kotja

Image © Danny Coonan

I have recently moved to Japan and am finding the exchange rate from the Aussie Dollar into the Japanese Yen relay bad and food is expensive here if your buying it with Australian converted Yen. So I have been on a pretty tight budget. However this does not mean I’m not eating well. I’m down to potatoes, pasta, ramen and rice. I wiped this Potato salad variation up tonight for dinner. What do you recon!? Its pretty tasty! Oiiishi desune!

This photograph was taken on my Nikon D90 at f2.8, 1/60 with a nice Nikon 35mm lens

Ok have been busy settling in to Japan but I’ve just uploaded this pic of my studio in Fukuoka. Its of when I just arrived and had my uncle Tony Hilton staying with me who took the photo… Big ups go to Tony throwing down the mad wide angle camera style! Isn’t that Nikorr 10mm fish eye and Wide lens something else? And yes that’s a surfboard and no the surfs not pumping yet!

Nikon D3x Nikkor 10mm

Nikon D3x 14mm

What else am I doing. Well when I’m not checking out Japan’s crazy art, music design and fashion scene here in Daimyo, I’m freelancing my days away doing Flash projects. Flash FaceBook apps are the new craze get yours here now! Haha! Nope just jokes I’ve been researching Flash Facebook apps and asside from just a few prototypes you should see a nice Muskater FaceBook app coming your was soon.

This is all good fun, however, the seriousness of the situation is that I’m here to develop an artwork. I’ve already taken one step forward with creating a physical interface to control video using Arduino, ultrasonic sensors (like the ones in the new cars that tell you how far away the car behind is) and Processing.org for the visuals though its very limited for video right now. I will be installing Heard and Experimenta Commission artwork here on Sept 24,25,26 and performing with local dancers using the video hardware I’m working.

So all guns blazing and really am just excited to be here in Japan.

I’m organising some video screening nights for Australian and Japanese Videos while here in Japan. If you have a video you want screened send me a link to review through a comment and I’ll let you know.
You can also join the FaceBook page to keep uo to date here

I’ve been living in Japan for one week now and I thought I’d share with you some of the delights I have encountered so far. Hip Hop in Japan like most things that come from America here has a huge following. The Hip Hop out of US by the likes of Kanye West, Jay Z, Lupe Fiasco, and the up and coming Kristof Krane are on high rotation in main stream clubs around Japan. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the Black Eyed Peas “I Got a Feeling” (Oh how much they have changed!). So I thought I’d bring up some examples of some Japanese underground Hip Hop as break from the mass of imported stuff that get played here.

This album is from the Powershuvel audio website. The theme is an imaginary film and this is the sound track to that film. What type of film would it be? More information and get the album here.

NATURAL BALANCE
I’M GOING TO SAY NOTHING BUT YOU’LL BE CURIOUS
LESSONS I DARKNESS

Surf Spot Japan Kyushu Hyuga

I’m going to Japan and its going to be summer. And yep I’m going to take my surfboard. I’ll be in Kyushu the first two months and I found a few surf spots on this site:
http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Asia/Japan/Kyushu/index.html
In particular I like the look of these place:
http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Asia/Japan/Kyushu/kizaki_beach/index.html
http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Asia/Japan/Kyushu/hyuga/index.html

This video was shot for the week long residency and performance at Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia. The video is a survival guide for artists visiting Asia. It portrays four characters who’s trip to Malaysia ends in tragedy by morphing into ghosts at which point the characters become real and continue the performance though a number of site specific performance. The first being a boat love song sung By Joey Chua Poh Yi, then a Contemporary Dance by Csilla Nagy and then Marie Cherbet. The work explores new forms of narrative in the framework of contextual dance and interactive performance/theatre.

EU&ME Rimbun Dahan Video from rhys on Vimeo.

It brings a tear to my eye selling my little Yamaha SRX250. I’ve had a love hate relationship with this little bike over the past 4 years and now its time you upgrade and say goodbye! The bike is a million times better than when I bought it… Have replaced a lot parts on it and managed to tune it up now so it runs real well… what can you expect its a Four-stroke single they just keep going! So anyways I thought I’d do a blog entry dedicated to my little thumper.

Well its the end of the EU&ME South East Asian tour… I learnt a few dance moves which if your luck enough to see me on the dance floor I’ll whip ‘em out for you. There will be video documentation shortly but for now I have a Hero shot which will be used for EU&ME Collective PR whould anyone be interested in having us perform for them.

For more information on the Residency and a review of the performance by our host Biqis please click here

Photograph taken at Rimbun Dahan

Photograph by Rhys Turner © 2010 Rhys Turner (EU&ME)

This is a snapshot video of Man Mo Temple Sheung Wan I shot just before leaving to go to Singapore.

Hong Kong Snap Shot – Man Mo Temple Sheung Wan Hong Kong from rhys on Vimeo.