ANIMACHINA; animisme et némésis

Project Description

This performance was coordinated through a series of workshops conducted under the supervision of Jonathon Anderson at The LAB. The pieces invite the viewer to see the KUKA robot not as a commodity but rather as a friend—one who has the power to act and evolve in concert with the human being.

This monster-machine, with unforgivable tentacles, perform choreographic movements with surgical precision. In unison, they strum, alter the performer's voice on pedals, and document the scene. The inherent danger in this dance of death where a single error in coordination can lead to a fatal accident allows KROY and her team to touch the sublime. It is amongst machines that she finds comfort and can fully vibrate.

In this co-creation relationship, KROY enters into a symbiosis with the robots surrounding her. Something vital and mortal emerges from these bodies as cold and lifeless as that of the robotic arm. In ANIMACHINA, KROY tames the beast, emancipating machines from their modern alienation and infusing them, perhaps, with a soul.

—Raphaëlle Cormier, Phi Centre