Zoo is mostly a Thursday, Friday, Saturday type venue. But on Sunday night, April 10th, the dance floor was cut in half to accommodate a more intimate experience, the audio visual performances of Teatrino Electrico followed by The Erasers.

Starting with Teatrico the duo sample audio and video feeds of printers and other mechanical contraptions of their own making, using cameras and microphones attached and directed to them. I have seen many attempts in this area of audio visual performance. However the selectivity and intensity that Teatrico apply to this approach was extremely gratifying.

The Erasers setup consisted of two long rows of tables that ran parallel to each other in front of the three large screens. The screens were the back drop and amplification of what occurred on the tables. The tables closest to the screens were lined with computers and other mixing equipment. This allowed for the artists using this equipment to face the video that they were projecting and allowed the audience to see how they were doing this. A gesture to demystifying the process? The second table, set at about a meter and a half from the first one was for cutting paper, writing on it, tearing it to pieces, spray painting, smashing a toy ambulance, whacking a computer keyboard to pieces in time with the ’sound track’, eating a VHS tape, setting fire to plastic toy soldiers…

Until there is video of these performances it is highly recommended to have a look at The Erasers blog. Full of photos that interleave performance documentation with simple meditations on the intricate mechanics of a highly mediated world.