(SHIFT)

The first (untitled) performance by Optical Machines made an impression thanks to the way in which image and sound were created. Rikkert Brok (image) and Maarten Halmans (sound) do not like to take a static position behind flashy laptops, but prefer to allow the spectator a glimpse behind the scenes. A kind of laboratory setup of modified record players, pattern models, lamps, cameras and an analogue synthesiser linked to them was used to make a both hypnotic and amusing show.
For their new performance (SHIFT), this approach has been retained more or less the same. The way in which the two men work can also easily be followed and is a significant part of the performance, while the equipment is again manufactured by them. A kind of Pandora's Box, an ingenious case with a battery of lights, forms the basis of a play with interfering patterns and abstract animation.
(SHIFT) is a real live show with light images that are generated, manipulated, mixed and projected on the spot. The interaction between image and sound is twofold: the soundtrack influences the image and vice versa.