Art often shows an audience something personal about the artist, and the collaborative multidisciplinary presentation Spectacle of the Lost Self showcases the darker side of the human experience.
“Before coming here, while we were brainstorming, we decided to do something related to our ancestry, but we weren’t clicking with that idea. We weren’t totally able to connect to it for this project,” said Monica Hepburn, artist-in-residence at the Oxygen Art Centre.
Mutya Macatumpag was actually invited to Nelson as the artist-in-resident for August, but asked Hepburn to come along as well.
“We started talking more about what we wanted to be doing and Mutya suggested we start looking in to the nitty gritty and the dark side, and the stuff we look at more on a personal level but we don’t discuss out in public.”
The performance looked at depression and aimed to give a forum for people to discuss and relate to what may often be an individual struggle.
Macatumpag contributed music, dance, and what she describes as “yarn bombing” to the presentation, while Hepburn used stop-motion animation and writing.
The artists were pleased with the open and supportive way the audience approached the presentation.
“There are different pieces throughout the performance but there is continuity and the theme is woven throughout,” said Hepburn.
Spectacle of the Lost Self is the first opportunity Hepburn and Macatumpag have had to collaborate on a project.
“We’re really learning how we work together. We do collaborate on more of a graphic design level with Monica creating flyers for me, but we’ve never collaborated on a performance,” said Macatumpag.
“A lot of this is new for me,” said Hepburn who primarily focuses on visual arts. “I did some theatre as a kid but it’s been kind of a new discovery for me. It’s been kind of scary and great at the same time.”
Local musicians from the Oxygen Orkestar also contributed their skills to the performance.
For more on upcoming presentations at Oxygen Art Centre visit oxygenartcentre.org.