PIPS:Lab Social Fiction new at Theatre Junction

Born out of the underground party scene in Amsterdam (which is a good start for any modern art) PIPS:Lab is a group of experimental artists that expertly blend music, video, light, movement and technology and mash it in to a totally unexpected theatre experience.

Social Fiction is the new show from PIPS:Lab showing at Theatre Junction Nov 20th to 22nd, and before the audience were even in their seats they were treated to the unexpected. Upon entering the theatre space, each audience member was scanned by one of the PIPS:Lab performers for interesting colours and patterns on their clothing and hair. Certain individuals were sent to other performers for further scanning, with a handful of those audience members being chosen to help construct or man a spacecraft.

If you’re not quite following along, that’s ok. Most of the audience (myself included) watched dumbfounded as the PIPS:Lab performers ran about the performance space with various bits of technology including cameras and what looked like (and was later confirmed to be) motion capture devices.

In the end, all the parts came together in an interesting blend of digital animation, performance art and music. To explain the process would be to spoil the fun, so I will only say that this show must be seen to be believed.

Definitely not a conventional performance, Social Fiction still manages to convey an interesting message. While it’s hard to categorize the show in to any single genre, after some further contemplation I believe the show is much like a ballet, where the dance is the intricate and subtle interactions between humans and technology.

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Social Fiction runs until November 22nd and you can get tickets at Theatre Junction. The members of PIPS:Lab will also be doing an artist talk and workshop, click here for more details.

Tagged as: pipslab, theatre junction