IntroDucing

Interdisciplinary artists Cy Gorman  of Nurobodi (AUS) and Jazmyne Geis (USA) met many moons ago at the 2014 World Dance Alliance Global Summit in Angers, France, where they were both showcasing choreographic works that presented unique cultural perspectives, integrative disciplines, and contemporary voices. They immediately recognized a shared passion for creatively expressing the importance of the individual's interconnected relationship with Mother Nature and the art of experiential narratives.

The AUGORG team and special guest artists continue to explore movement and its relationship to identity with its many developments and outcomes, connecting with landscapes, waterways, weather patterns, currents and flows involved in navigating a space— working in a relationship that is both internal with the spirit and voice of the land, and external in the global context of events (the stage) within which the land speaks. We investigate how “dance” provocatively (re)interrogates and (re)conceptualizes fundamental questions about region, nation, and location, as well as their symbolic representations. This includes studies of both emerging and preexisting creative practices and theorization. We are in consideration of issues affecting identity and geopolitics across lands and waters as well as across the global and regional— celebrating and interrogating the connecting, mediating and negotiating power of creative practices, as well as the shifting relationships and pedagogies of integrating dance, film, interdisciplinary design, and technologically creative storytelling.

Timeline

2015

In 2015, Cy and Jaz began a transnational new media/film research project exploring states of liminality and presence by combining mythological "goddess" archetypes within various physical and digital environments. In the latter half of 2015, Cy met cyborg artist and activist Neil Harbisson (SPN/USA). The two formed another transnational creative relationship and Cy began integrating Neil's sonochromatic light and color theory into both his audio and visual design processes. This additional audiovisual production guidance from Neil, combined with the developing languages of Cy and Jaz's work, sparked the interest of one of the most renowned creative residency centers in Scandinavia - The Arteles Creative Residency Center.

2016

In 2016 Cy and Jaz worked intensely at the Arteles Center residency center alongside artists and designers from all around the globe. This was prolific in creating the foundations of the Finland based film chapters as well as developing all of the live, research and workshop based theory, method and practices for the years to come.

2017

During the latter half of 2016 and all of 2017 Cy spent 1.5 years in post production crafting the sound design, score, visual edit and final visual and audio grade of all five chapters of the AUGORG Finland production residency. The suite of films was quietly released but only amongst small circles of independent film festivals and performance art blogs. There were also private screenings in New York, and Melbourne for various social and environmental justice organizations such as the Wilderness Society Australia. AUGORG also received two awards for best actress and experimental film categories for work submitted to the 12MFF, an international online festival.

2018

The Augmented Organism Project's launched as an exclusive limited immersive screening license at Manningham Gallery in Melbourne Australia on a super blue blood full moon, Feb 2018 and featured there for three weeks. There has been a focus on smaller gathering screenings, artist talks, live streaming with Q&A, and presentations to get to know the AUGORG team better and learn more about the extensive research and practices that are behind the project. AUGORG was featured on the Artists & Climate Change’s ‘Building Earth Connections’ blog series, and the project was also reviewed on Chicago’s contemporary dance blog Dancer Music.

2019

Cy and Jaz travelled to Bangladesh for the Ocean Dance Festival to present the finished film works, perform a site specific performance, devise and film a second iteration of land/identity films and deliver a workshop on dance film making and lecture on the links between sound and choreography. It was during this conference that AUGORG first met Anusheh Anadil and collaborated with her on a work called Mukta.

2020

In the first four months of 2020, Cy completed post production for the Bangladesh dance film, Mukta, added as a new installment to the AUGORG project. The film is viewable here but has not yet been officially screened elsewhere. The work was nominated for best sound/music in the 2020 Real Word XR Awards.

One of the main principles that has guided the AUGORG Team’s actions through it all is:

 "He ʻike ʻana ia i ka pono" 

"See the right thing to do, and do it"

It is our mission to continue to act from a space of ‘pono’ —goodness, morality, virtue— and do the best we can with the knowledge and wisdom we have access to in any given moment.