Online Exhibition: What is the Sound of One Heart Dancing? by Tia Vellani at Alternative Kilkenny Arts

‘What is the Sound of One Heart Dancing?’ by cross-disciplinary artist, musician and scientist Tia Vellani is a new multi-sensory virtual exhibition that will be presented this August during the Alternative Kilkenny Arts and Kilkenny Arts Festivals online at akafringe.com – the first exhibition in Ireland of work by this Kilkenny-based artist.

Vellani’s artistic practice revolves around the discovery of possible meanings encoded in a work of art, a piece of music, or a scientific theory, and their expression in a variety of different art forms (sculpture, installation, performance, painting, digital art, and music).What is the Sound of One Heart Dancing? explores improvisational dance by interpreting it as music.

The movements of performer, Helen Walsh, dancing in the dark and illuminated by LEDs and luminescent glow sticks, form the first element of this virtual 3D experience. Her movement has been captured in long-exposure photographs. These movements have then been translated into sound, not through recording her breathing nor the sound of her feet, but by tracking the lines of her movements as highlighted by the illumination. Three composers – concert pianist and composer Sandra Mogensen; sound & spoken word artist Eoin Coffey, and Vellani, have created four unique new musical responses by interpreting the resulting light patterns as music.  Their recorded musical compositions, inspired by the dancer’s movements, form the final part of the experience.

Tia says, “Since 2018 I’ve been writing music inspired by visual art. I discovered that in trying to understand how elements of music and visual art are used to express various emotional journeys, I was developing a deeper understanding of both music and visual art. The emotional journey expressed in improvised dance lie very close to the fiery core of creativity. Two of the special things about this work is that composer, Sandra Mogensen, has synaesthesia and experiences colour as sound. The inspiration from her piece came from one of Jennie’s Grangel’s highly colourful photos of Helen Walsh’s dance. And secondly that Eoin Coffey’s response to Helen’s improvised dance was improvised music. I’m very excited for people to see and hear the show.”

The exhibition will be officially launched on Saturday 7^th August at 3pm with an “in conversation” Zoom event with the artist on the Alternative Kilkenny Arts Festival website www.akafringe.com.

What is the Sound of One Heart Dancing? is supported by the Arts Council’s Arts and Disability Connect, a funding scheme for artists with disabilities, managed by Arts & Disability Ireland. Tia received a New Work award through the scheme in 2019. For more information on this funding scheme, please see: www.adiarts.ie/connect.

Pádraig Naughton, Executive Director, Arts & Disability Ireland, says, “Arts and Disability Connect is designed to support artists with disabilities to be ambitious!  Tia Vellani’s What is the Sound of One Heart Dancing?, is a truly innovative virtual exhibition bringing together an exciting combination of a cross-disciplinary artist, musician and scientist which in these extraordinary times will not only be a delightful treat for audiences in Kilkenny but around the world.”

What is the Sound of One Heart Dancing? has been created in partnership with Alternative Kilkenny Arts.

Lead Artist & Artistic Director & Producer: Tia Vellani
Dance Performance: Helen Walsh
Musical Compositions: Eoin Coffey, Sandra Mogensen & Tia Vellani
Photography: Jennie Grangel & Tia Vellani
Videography: Jennie Grangel

Exhibition dates: Wednesday 4^th– Sunday 15^th August
Launch date & time: Saturday 7^th August 3pm
Website: AKA website www.akafringe.com
The exhibition will also be available on the artist’s website tiavellani.com until 15^th September.

Biography
Tia Vellani is a cross-disciplinary artist whose practice embraces visual art, music, science, and performance. Through her work she advocates subversively for connection, unity, peace, and understanding. She is a multi-instrumental musician, former molecular biologist, and former jewellery designer. She graduated with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at the University of British Columbia and worked as a postdoctoral researcher of genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and genomics at the University of Miami in the US and at Teagasc in Ireland. She is based in Kilkenny, Ireland. For further information see tiavellani.com and patreon.com/tiavellani.