Oceanic Theremin (a Triptych)

2021
Steven Sych
Video (3D & code), 4 min. 51 sec.

"Oceanic Theremin (a Triptych)" is a video artwork consisting of a series of procedural musical performances. ‘Procedural’ here means that the musical performance is created through code and via the physical simulation of instruments, and performed without conscious intervention. Oceanic Theremin is not just a video: it is a 3D digital music box, one capable of generating infinite performances; it is a novel instrument played by an unconscious and partly hidden performer—a musical messenger grasping at us from the deep.



Bio

Steven Sych is a digital artist and academic currently based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. He holds a B.A. (Honors) in Philosophy (University of Alberta 2009), a Master's in Design from Concordia (2021), and a PhD. in Philosophy from McGill University (2016). His work has been shown at festivals such as MUTEK, Ars Electronica, and ADAF (Athens Digital Arts Festival); it places the techno-quotidian realities of 2021 into surprising contexts and configurations and aims to open up novel pathways for meaningfully re-approaching the role of the digital in our everyday lives. Currently, Steven is a faculty member at John Abbott College where he has taught everything from documentary film to science fiction to game design to sexual ethics.