The Zero-Gravity Band

Albert Barqué-Durán, Marc Marzenit, and Elisa Ferrèand Quo Artis Foundation

Images

Work Description

We are in the middle of the space technology revolution. In the next few years, we will have the opportunity of enabling our civilization live on others planets. It is time to research and experience its potential cultural implications and debate the future of humanity.

The Zero-Gravity Band” (ZGB) is a disruptive project at the intersection of art and science to explore the concept of art outside planet Earth. Specifically, it examines how both the production and perception of art changes when we are not restricted to the physical laws and framework that planet Earth’s gravity imposes to us. To overcome to terrestrial gravity, we are intending to take part on a parabolic flight with the aim to produce the first artwork designed and motivated to be experienced and perceived in microgravity.

The aim of the ZGB project is to explore with a rigorous scientific approach how gravity affects aesthetic preferences and design an artistic performance based on the truly innovative and novel research on how gravity itself shapes our perceptual and aesthetic experiences.

The result of this research would be a 360º lighting and audiovisual experience that the audience can experience in an immersive installation.

Video Documentation

Artist Bio

Albert Barqué-Duran, PhD
Albert is a postdoctoral researcher in Cognitive Sciences at the City, University of London and a contemporary artist. He directs disruptive projects at the intersection between art and science in order to find new formats for the generation of scientific knowledge, to reflect on contemporary and futuristic issues and their cultural implications. He has exhibited and performed at Sónar + D (Barcelona), Creative Reactions (London, United Kingdom) Cambridge, Neuroscience Society (Cambridge. United Kingdom), Max Plank (Berlin, Germany), SciArt Center (New York, USA).

Marc Marzenit
The precociousness in the techno music has its best and most recent representation in Marc Marzenit. At the age of 11, while studying classical music at a music academy, he acquired his first synthesizer and at age 14 he was already exploring the electronic music festival Sónar, in search of electronic emotions. A year later, he created his first label, Paradigma Musik, which has several international artists. In addition to these impeccable credentials Marc's talent has an unprecedented personal appearance that distinguishes him from many other talented artists: bringing electronic music beyond the dance floor with projects such as his ""Suite on the Clouds "", a 3D visual show with 8 violinists, 1 harp, symphonic percussion, several synthesizers and a grand piano. These projects are based on his classical training and show an integrated vision of electronic music: combining acoustic, analog and digital instruments in the same show.

Elisa Ferrè, PhD
Director of the Vestibular Multisensory Embodiment Lab and Professor of Biological Psychology at the Department of Psychology at the Royal Holloway University in London, since 2015. Previously she was a postdoctoral scholar at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. In 2012 she completed her PhD at the University of Pavia. Her research focuses on how the brain calculates gravity, but also how gravity shapes human behavior. At this time, part of her research is focused on how gravity influences the aesthetic experience. Her laboratory is supported, among others, by the European Low-Gravity Research Association and the European Space Agency.