SEAN BELL
Countertenor and Performance Artist
A performative video installation with a sequence that repeats every 15 minutes. The singer is seen on the video screen while singing and gesturing towards the objects in the room, they are activated. The audience is invited to stay and follow the video of the operatic performance, listening with headphones.
While the singer gesticulates and acquires the objects, the observer experiences a form of duality. On the one hand, we see the cables connecting the objects behind the screen, and we understand that the video controls the movements, but at the same time we can get the feeling that the singer is actually in the room, commanding the objects with his gestures. The "homemade and everyday" properties of the objects provide a somewhat humorous and paradoxical contrast to the philosophical thought evoked by the song's lyrics.
‘A Kinetic Opera’ was co-created by Sean Bell and visual artist Roddy Bell, it was exhibited at Østfold kunstsenter gallery (NO) from January-March 2024.