All about the second edition of L.E.V. Matadero Madrid

The new edition of L.E.V. starts this week with unprecedented audiovisual experiments and immersive virtual reality experiences. For the second consecutive year, Matadero Madrid is organizing the festival that brings to Madrid the avant-garde of experimentation in the field of audiovisual creation, electronic music and the use of digital tools. 

The program of this second edition of L.E.V. is articulated in three sections that will have as a venue physical, virtual and hybrid spaces. Divided into 4 days, the exhibition combines musical and artistic projects and proposals hosted in a new online universe. The section Vortex will offer experiences of Virtual Reality and VR Cinema in spaces of Matadero Madrid and Cineteca Madrid. Always complying with all the hygienic-sanitary measures in force. The Augmented City section presents the viewer with different urban experiences of augmented reality in different parts of the city of Madrid. For its part, the section Planet L.E.V. Matadero will propose new formats of musical and artistic representation.

Vortex

In this second edition, the Vortex section (VRTX), focused on immersive experiences, will continue to explore the artistic and narrative possibilities of the new digital environments. Vortex programming integrates projects that address the experimentation of sound in the digital environment and the concept of travel.

“To the Moon” is a Virtual Reality experience created by artists Laurie Anderson and Hsin-Chien Huang to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the landing of man on the moon.

Another key piece is “Spheres”, the first incursion of the film director and scriptwriter Darren Aronofsky in the field of VR. The result of this work together with Eliza McNitt invites us to listen to the sound of the gravitational waves accompanied by the voices of the singer Patti Smith or the actress Millie Bobby Brown.

This section will also present “The Tonandi Project”. Born in collaboration between Sigur Ros and Magic Leaps, it allows us to explore in an interactive way through augmented reality the sounds and imagery of the Icelandic band.

On the other hand, “A Symphony of Noise VR” is an interactive virtual reality project based on Matthew Herbert’s work that allows you to create your own sound compositions. A real experience for the audience.

The VR Cinema films programmed in the Workshop close the VORTEX chapter: Black Bag by Qing Shao, Conscious of Existence by Marc Zimmermann and Passenger, by the directors Isobel Knowles and Van Sowerwine.

Augmented City

The artist Claudia Maté, one of the most outstanding net art artists internationally, has created specifically for L.E.V. Matadero two large format virtual sculptures inspired by The Fallen Angel, the emblematic sculpture of the Madrid’s Retiro. Under the title “Heavenly Entities”, Maté invites us to geolocate both sculptures in augmented reality in Matadero Madrid and in the Temple of Debod.

This is not all. In this section there is room for other artistic representations. M.O.A (My Own Assistance) AR, is a fiction in augmented reality based on the novel “The Stealthies” by Alain Damasio. The piece is developed by Marie Blondiaux and Charles Ayats and produced by Red Corner. It is a world premiere in collaboration with NewImages Festival (Paris) and the Biennial Chroniques (Aix en Provence & Marseille). Located in a dystopian reality in 2040, it will allow the public to travel around the environment in which the novel takes place and participate in its narration through a mobile device. Do you dare? Maybe this reality is not so different from today’s.

Planet L.E.V. Matadero

Planet L.E.V. is a great virtual, immersive and participative scenario. A newly created artistic experience, created by Children of Cyberspace and produced by Matadero Madrid and L.E.V. It was born during the confinement with the intention of turning the most challenging moment for culture into an opportunity to experiment with new formats.

This dreamlike universe will host live and sound experiments and a circuit of audiovisual installations, sculptures and animations. The proposals are: “Spin“, by composer Robert Lippok and visual artist Lucas Gutiérrez. Also living on Planet LEV “Tentacle Queen” by Sinjin Hawke & Zora Jones; “Heterotopias” by Elías Merino & Sergio Millán; “Concentric Core Reflector. MSHR” by Birch Cooper & Brenna Murphy; “Monades” by Sabrina Ratté and Ghost Island: “Innervision” by Meuko! Meuko! & NAXS corp or Biosphere & Initi.

L.E.V. Matadero will take place from September 24th to 27th. Get your tickets now. You have all the info in the Festival website and in Matadero Madrid. Get into this new artistic expression.