LAAP

Contemporary
Compositional
Environments

About

LAAP is the collaborative project from Morgan Hickinbotham and Bek Berger. Friends since teenagers and working together since 2017, they are interested with creatively manipulating sound and image through exploring and expanding on minor imperfections or mistakes inherent in artistic experimentation. They create environments that offer alternative framing to everyday existence, offering augmented live situations through the engagement and manipulation of analogue technologies. 

LAAP will premiere their first major project Compositions for the Pool at Prahran Pool in February 2019. They both currently collaborate and tour with contemporary dance artist James Batchelor.

Morgan Hickinbotham is an experimental composer, sound artist, photographer and film maker based in Melbourne, Australia. In 2012 Morgan graduated the Victoria College of the Arts with a Batchelor of Fine Arts, Photography. In 2015 he revealed his first solo show ‘Uncertainty’ at N/A Gallery in Brunswick as has been featured at group shows at IPF Photo Prize, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Seventh Gallery, Strange Neighbour Gallery, Hillvale Photography Group Show- Tinning St Gallery and Stockroom Gallery. Since 2012 Morgan has composed and performed live music for Choreographer James Batchelor including ISLAND (2014), DEEPSPACE (2017), Chunky Move Commission, Redshift (2017), HYPERSPACE (2018) and Proscenium (2019). Morgan has made original musical commissions for Joshua Lowe, Amber McCartney, QL2 Dance ACT, Studio Hi Ho and Aesop Japan. 

 

Bek Berger is a creative producer, curator and contemporary performance artist from Melbourne, Australia. Her practice is focused on elevating contemporary artworks that sit in-between art forms, providing dramaturgical integrity and cultural continuity. Over the last three years Bek has worked extensively throughout Europe, New York and Australia with positions at MoMA PS1 (NYC, USA), American Realness Festival (NYC, USA), Fierce Festival (Birmingham, UK), Forest Fringe (UK), Darwin Festival (AUS) and Dance Massive (AUS). As an independent producer and artist, Bek has worked with Aphids, Sisters Grimm, The Hayloft Project, Chamber Made Opera, Phillip Adams Balletlab and Lucy Guerin Inc. Bek currently sits on the Contemporary and Experimental Performance panel of the Greenroom Awards.

 

Co-founder Morgan Hickinbotham

Co-founder Bek Berger

Compositions for the pool

 

Click here to listen/download the composition audio (Composition_For_The_Pools.mp3)

 

Compositions for the pool is an immersive sound experience that offers a new way of enjoying swimming while exploring the way we might be able to capture space, time and a sense of community through sound. These compositions act as a symphonic monument to a beloved childhood space.

Inspired by their mutual love of swimming, Stonnington born artists, Morgan Hickinbotham and Bek Berger (LAAP) invite you to heighten your everyday laps with a new composition made for waterproof headphones. 

LAAP have developed this new work while being in artist-in-residence at Prahran Aquatics Centre and over a series of several months the pair gathered field recordings, harvested sounds and talked to local swimmers about there experience of the space. 

Working with the Stonnington Symphony, a local volunteer-based symphony, the pair have notated this digital composition for classical notion. The outcome, an experimental composition that encompasses the physical and sonic aspects of the Pool.

 

Thursday 7th Feb 3pm – 7pm

Friday 8th Feb 3pm – 7pm

Saturday 9th Feb 11am – 4pm

Sunday 10th Feb 10am – 1pm

 

VENUE: Prahran Aquatics Centre, 41 Essex St, Prahran VIC 3181 

Compositions for the Pool can be enjoyed FREE with any pool entry and runs for approx. 25 mins. For any booking or access enquires please email contact@laapprojects.com

-37.8481992,144.9939289

 

 

By LAAP (Morgan Hickinbotham and Bek Berger)
Composition: Morgan Hickinbotham
Production Assistant: Matilda Berger 
Music made in collaboration with The Stonnington Symphony

Musicians: Paul Boasman (Violin), David Chan (Violin/Viola), Helen Henzell (Violin), David Laity (Clarinet), Emma Ridout (Oboe) and Dennis Vaughan (Cello/Double Bass)

Compositions for the pool has been supported by the City of Stonnington through their annual arts and cultural grants. The work couldn't have been made without the support of Prahran Aquatic Centre and St Martins Youth Arts Centre who have both provided residencies.

Photography: Morgan Hickinbotham
 

Reflection II

Reflection II is an immersive sound and film installation inspired by the phenomena of auditory hallucinations in dreamlike states. 

Over an 18 month period composer Morgan Hickinbotham used this method to induce and compose music in dreamlike states and notate them while awake. These fragments of dreamed music have been compiled and composed into three movements electronically. This score has been adapted into classical notation in collaboration with Gemma Kneale and Chiara Anderson.

Reflection II invites you to immerse yourself in the composition alongside a new super 8 film. This film was developed with Dancer, Amber McCartney and collaborator, Bek Berger. Using the classical score as a starting point the team worked to embody concepts of visualising the unconscious self in relation to the environment. The team shot the film throughout Victoria including locations such as Collingwood Pool, Phillip Island and Hanging Rock.

A FREE live performance of the composition featuring cellists Gemma Kneale and Chiara Anderson will take place at the opening on 29th of March 2019 at Testing Grounds at 6.30pm and 8pm. 

 

30mins
FREE (no booking required)
For any booking or access enquires please email contact@laapprojects.com

 

Opening Night, March 29th 6-9pm 2019
Installation Open from 30 March - 6 April, Wed-Sat 11am-6pm 

-37.821347,144.965427

This project is supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Grants Program and Testing Grounds. 

Reflection II
by LAAP (Morgan Hickinbotham and Bek Berger) 

Composition: Morgan Hickinbotham 
Producer and Curator: Bek Berger
Musicians: Gemma Kneale and Chiara Anderson.
Choreographer: Amber McCartney
Installation Design: Sophie Hayward 

Reflection III

 

Click here to listen/download the composition audio (Reflection_III.mp3)

 

Over the last three years, Composer Morgan Hickinbotham has been working on a multi-disciplinary series of work, Reflection. Inspired by the research of Oliver Sacks, Morgan created a series of compositional experiments by inducing sleep state aural hallucinations and documenting the results. From these Morgan was able to compose with fragments of music constructed in dreams.

Reflection III is the latest development for Peel Street Park Projection Program, a large-scale installation of the visual film score, without sound.

In Reflection II, the LAAP team created the visual score on 8mm film. This film was developed in conjunction with dancer and choreographer Amber McCartney and curator Bek Berger. Using the classical score as a starting point the team worked to embody concepts of visualising the unconscious self in relation to the environment and transcribing the textures of the sonic score to film.

The full sonic score of the film is available as a free download that audiences can listen to on their own personal devices if they choose to. The downloaded score can be played at any point of the film.

 

Installation Open from 06 August - 01 September 2019, Mon - Sun 5.30pm - 4am

-37.8051298,144.9823709

This project is supported by the City of Yarra

Reflection III
by LAAP (Morgan Hickinbotham and Bek Berger) 

Composition: Morgan Hickinbotham 
Producer and Curator: Bek Berger
Musicians: Gemma Kneale and Chiara Anderson.
Choreographer: Amber McCartney
 

Contact

For all enquiries please email contact@laapprojects.com

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