‘Hundreds + Thousands’ is a work blending dance, experimental music, and installations at Perth Institute Of Contemporary Arts (PICA).
The work, from Luke George (Melbourne) and Daniel Kok (Singapore) uses plants as mediators, performers, and new companions as it blurs the boundaries between people and the natural world. It’s set to transform PICA into a plant-filled landscape brimming with movement, bodily sensation, and ecological curiosity.
There’s no spoken word in the performance. Co-Performer and voice artist Alice Change provides live vocalisation, adding to a soundtrack from Nigel Brown on a deconstructed piano accordion.
“‘Hundreds + Thousands’ is very much a performance for both people and plants. The work is filled with feelings of intimacy, openness, calmness, and connection, with a humorous twist,” Co-Creator/Performer Daniel Kok says.
“Visitors will feel a sense of everything breathing together as they rest in our ‘makeshift’ garden and we invite them to consider both our relationship with plants, and the wider world around us – a world currently in crisis.”
Image © Ken Cheong
Luke George elaborates further.
“It’s very important to us that people know it’s also for the plants – they’re not just there for decoration. The idea for the show first came to us in 2018 but had to be dramatically adapted thanks to COVID-19. We’ve shown it online at Liveworks in Sydney and at the Singapore National Gallery. We’ve also responded to the pandemic – how people feel being at home, and the place that plants played in our lives at home.”
While the performance inspires a sense of calm and connection, the creators also want to instil in audiences some urgency, and concern for the environment, as a result of having seen ‘Hundreds + Thousands’.
‘Hundreds + Thousands’ plays Perth Institute Of Contemporary Arts 13-15 October.
