Virtual reality, contemporary dance and sculpture are some of the building blocks that Leslie Deere uses in her sound art pieces, creating virtual realms used to provoke alternative states of being. Deere has both an origin in sound arts and performing art, she recurrently explores where these two mediums overlap, using technology to translate the forms of the mediums and create something new. Her tools have shifted from using sensors connected to Max MSP patches, where her dance movements are used to trigger and modulate sound objects, to exploring the realms of VR to create performance art. Visual media is always present in her work, manipulated to mirror or highlight sound with a dynamic nature, creating a final form where all mediums coexist symbiotically, thriving to a common goal.

In the performance above, Deere attempt to create illusions and magic through digital audio-visual media. The piece is called Modern Conjuring For Amateurs and it consist of a piece of performance art where she explores different dance moves that are then translated into visuals (projected in the wall) and sound. She performs in-front of her laptop that contains a Max patch that collects input from the camera of the laptop, and modulates parameters with such. In the performance we can see her silhouette multiplied in different colours, echoing her movements. The patch detects her moves and recognises different patterns, for example raising the hands or crossing them through an x and y axis, that are then linked to parameters such as amplitude and reverb in the patch. A couple of weeks ago we managed to have a guest lecture with her, where she explained that the theremin and magic practice where some of the inspirations behind this performance.

Array Infinitive could be argued as Deere’s most ambitious work. It consist of a series of guided meditations taken place in virtual reality. Where the audience sit in a circle around the performer (that is Leslie Deere) with VR head sets and are taken through a guided tour in a created virtual world. Through out the session, Deere uses sensor in her hands and she moves along the meditation, this sensors are also mapped to an axis and her movements affect the timbre of the sound in the meditation. This piece explores themes such as colour-therapy, media-introspection and psychedelia, relating them in the context of a meditation. The objective of the meditation is to help the individual reach a state of alternative consciousness, this is meant in some-what a spiritual experience. For this piece an integration of multiple softwares and mediums was needed. As in the end of the video Deere explains that OSC data was used to communicate the different softwares, and the overall project was a collaboration of multiple talents working with creative digital technology.

In the recent time I have been exploring sound for video games and mediums such as VR, I have not encountered any work such as the one by Leslie Deere. She manages to utilise the tools of video games design to create complex art pieces and experimentations. My knowledge in video games technology and its development as an art form was very limited before encountering her work, I had the perspective that the medium was just used for entertainment. I found it fascinating to find a practitioner to explore themes as meditation and altered states with a medium I thought it was only used for games. The two conclusions I got after her guest lecture where first: I have to find a way to experience a performance such as Array Infinite, to discover by my self the expression capabilities of VR art. Second: I would love to learn how to use softwares outside the main mediums I work with (Sound and Music). Learn OSC data and experiment with creating art pieces that create a complete sensorial experience.