cyoa rhythms

“CYOA Rhythms” is a 2-channel video installation exploring ’alien nation’ themes — aliens, alienation, alien integration — which characterized and catalyzed the mindscape and soundscape of the Caribbean, and subsequently Caribbean carnival cultures. Similar themes have been mirrored in the US-UK inner-city immigrant communities of the 70s-80s where rap and hip-hop became the locus of inner-city social transformation. This installation presents rhythmic waves in a globalization tape loop, taking its aesthetic cues from the scratch video movement — video collage projections in 80s London/NYC nightclubs, constructed from popular TV, imbued with politically subversive meaning. As ocean waves rhythmically ebb and flow, carrying elements from shore to shore, cultural influences similarly traverse continents, echoing historical patterns. An exploration of issues of post-memory and intersectionality through intertextuality, this installation work examines cyclical repetition in migration, globalization, community friction and artistic intervention.

CREDITS

Cast: J. Ramlochan, J. Carter
Visual editor: J. Ramlochan
Production Location: Toronto, Canada

DETAILS

Aspect ratio: 4:3 (also re-edited to single channel, 16:9)
Digital file type: .mov
Recording format: SD
Sound: No
Colour/ B&W: Colour
Language: English
Subtitles: -
Close Captioning: -
Funding Sources: Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts

EXHIBITION HISTORY

Jul-Aug 2015 / Share the Love, Pan Am & ParaPan Am Games, Celebration Square, Mississauga
(Commissioned by the City of Mississauga, artist talk hosted by the Art Gallery of Mississauga)

Sep-Oct 2014 / Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival, New Media Program, Medulla Art Gallery, Port of Spain.

May 2014 / The Carnival Project, Littlefield Eco-Club (Gowanus) Brooklyn, New York
(Music cultural event hosted by Batala NYC)