Sega

Sega (2017), two-channel audio-video installation
by Ivetta Sunyoung Kang and Gabriel Dharmoo
as part of the Serendipity project (Festival Accès Asie, Vidéographe, Montréal Arts Interculturels)

1. 4:31 mins, HD, Color, Sound, Stereo
2. 33:20 mins, HD, Color, Sound, Stereo (on headphones)

Ivetta Kang and Gabriel Dharmoo share a deep interest in languages, voice, traditional music and experimental art forms. These concepts led to Sega, a two-channel audio-visual installation based on the traditional Korean song, "새타령" (The Bird Song) by 김소희 (Kim, Sohee).

The first channel of the installation is an experimental video created by multiple visual superimpositions that evoke the imaginary and poetic figure of a bird. Emphasis is placed on visual abstraction. How would a bird move, see the outside world, and breathe? Ivetta attempts to answer these questions at each juncture of the making, and this research has led her to attempt a visual sculpture of an experiential bird. This video-poetry carves multiple layers of how a bird's shape lingers in her imagination and perception.

Gabriel's sound design is exclusively achieved through vocal and oral techniques. He weaves the lyrics and melody of The Bird Song into a dreamlike soundscape where strange birds flock, sing, weep and flap their wings.

The second channel of the installation documents Gabriel's Korean lessons with Ivetta. His linguistic and musical limitations intersect with his earnest yet futile attempts to render the beauty of the Korean language and the original Bird Song.