Sneaking into the underbelly of Federation Square may not sound like a meditative experience at all, but Jason Maling’s Diagrammatica manages to successfully channel one’s inner child into a calm chorus of improvised making and disassembling.
Diagrammatica comes in two components: a livestream of activity viewable through a hub at the Atrium in Federation Square, and a participatory group who are led down to Slot 9, a mysterious underground tunnel where the rumble of passing trains can be heard.
Wearing white overalls and shoe covers that make them almost invisible to the livestream camera, participants are encouraged to interact with the range of materials on offer, while a team of guest musicians – different on each day – create soundscapes in response to the image. It’s an environment where “nothing you do is wrong”, says Maling.
Diagrammatica is underpinned by concepts in physics, epistemology, astronomy and the visual language of diagrams. The fragments of images at the participatory group’s disposal in Slot 9 come from old science and astronomy books, but in the experience, one doesn’t need to be overly concerned with the information they represent. Instead, it becomes a process of trusting one’s instincts in what Maling describes as “the space of realisation”.
New configurations emerge as each participant slowly becomes absorbed in whatever their mission may be in the span of just under an hour. Towards the end, some may choose to wrap up their participation with a flurry of activity, while others simply lean back and watch the musicians create. Together, the group leaves behind the evidence of their activity for the next participants to make sense of, or unravel.
Before leaving, participants are handed a QR code to access a recording of the livestream, where bodies, shapes and movements create abstract landscapes filled with curiosity and spontaneity. They are reminiscent of the photos we see from space, where we find beauty and mystery in equal parts.
Read: Music review: Beth Gibbons, RISING, Hamer Hall
Think of it as mental yoga, and you may find Diagrammatica to be a refreshing, or even revelatory, experience.
Diagrammatica
Lead Artist, Host and Component Maker: Jason Maling
Sound Design and Live Performance: Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey
Film Design and Live Performance: Rhian Hinkley
Spatial Design: Chantal Marks
Workwear Design and Production: Andrew Treloar
Lighting Design: Katie Sfetkidis
Host and Component Production Assistant: Torie Nimmervoll
Host and Workwear Production Assistant: Charlie Lee
Producer (Sage Arts): Michaela Coventry
Strange Engine Executive Producer: Anna Schoo
Outside Eye: Martyn Coutts
Graphic Design: Dan Milne and Liz Cox
Speaker Design Consultant: Robert Larson
Online Session Archive Assembly: Mick Byrne
Technical Consultant: Tom McKeand
Component Production Assistant: Olie Kennedy
Guest musicians: Golden Sands, Moses Carr & Ohmi (Lachlan Thompson), Nadav Rayman, Cat Hope, Kaylie Melville, Mindy Meng Wang, JP Shilo, Helen Svoboda, Aaron Wyatt, Flora Carbo & Winter McQuinn, Genevieve Lacey & Marshall McGuire
Diagrammatica runs from 3-15 June at The Atrium (free) and Slot 9 (tickets $15) as part of RISING.
