Groundswell
Groundswell is a new work by Matthias Schack-Arnott, an award-winning artist from Melbourne who fuses sound and movement into evocative, atmospheric experiences.
Feel the earth move beneath your feet in this free, large-scale immersive installation.
How lightly do we tread upon the world?
Groundswell is a kinetic, interactive artwork that responds to every step we take. Audiences are invited to stand on a raised platform that responds as they shift their weight. Thousands of illuminated balls below create a visual and sonic response to individual motions, ensuring each moment is different from the last.
Groundswell sees Matthias Schack-Arnott again collaborating with Keith Tucker from Megafun and Tilman Robinson following their award winning Everywhen. His creations have been presented around the world.
Commissioned and co-produced by Melbourne Fringe and Sydney Festival with support from the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, Groundswell was recently presented as part of Sydney Festival, at the Customs House forecourt from 6 January to 24 January 2021.
About the Artist
Matthias Schack-Arnott is a Melbourne based percussive artist.
Described by The Guardian as ‘visually and sonically exquisite’, Schack-Arnott’s work explores unique approaches to percussive performance. His work has been presented by Melbourne Festival, La Comete (France), Spor Festival (Denmark), Arts House, Supersense – Festival of the Ecstatic (Arts Centre Melbourne), MPavilion, The Unconformity (Tasmania) & Next Wave (2012 & 2014).
From 2010-2018 Matthias was the Artistic Associate of Australia’s leading percussive arts organisation, Speak Percussion. He continues to have a close affiliation with the organisation.
He has won numerous awards, including the 2016 Melbourne Prize for Music ‘Development’ Award, a 2014 Green Room Award and multiple Australian Art Music Awards for his work with Speak Percussion.
As a collaborator, interpreter and improviser, Matthias has worked with many leading musicians including Steve Reich, Claire Chase, Unsuk Chin, Valerio Tricoli, John Zorn, Liza Lim and Steven Schick.
Matthias is a Musica Viva FutureMaker 2018-19.
Matthias Schack-Arnott, image by Keith Saunders
MTalks
Artists in Conversation: Matthias Schack-Arnott
Part of MPavilion 2020—in conversation with Creative Director and CEO of Melbourne Fringe Simon Abrahams—Matthias discusses Groundswell in this MTalk.
Ahead of the work’s 2021 premiere, Matthias and Simon talk about the inspiration behind it, the process for developing an audience-led experience, and ongoing creative pursuits.
This event was presented in partnership with Melbourne Fringe Festival. The Melbourne Fringe Artists in Conversation series was supported by Monash University Centre for Theatre and Performance.