The Skin of an Octopus

Date: Friday, October 29th, 2021
Location The GRAND & Livestream (map)
Duration: 18 minutes

The Skin of an Octopus is an interdisciplinary performance that follows the surreal story of an octopus, whose curiosity about the human world consumes their sensibility, morality, and identity, as they traverses through the land of fresh air and evergreen trees in someone else's skin.

They say Curiosity Killed the Cat... Well, let me tell you about my Octopus, MY OCTOPUS...

Created and performed by Nicole Charlton Goodbrand
Artistic Collaborator, written text and voice recording by Ryan John Arnold
Projection Design by Derek Demassi
Costume by Müge Dancewear
Music Credits: 'Woman' by Wolfmother, 'Knife Juggler Theme' by Ron Romanovsky, 'Waters of Nazareth' by Just-Ice & Steve Aoki, 'Happy Trails' by Quicksilver Messenger Service. 

This work would not be possible without the support of the Decidedly Jazz Danceworks Artist in Residency Program, The Grand Theatre Creative Residency, North Calgary Dance Centre, Barbara England, Heather Ware, Morgan Wilson and Travis Goodbrand.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Over the past year, dancer/choreographer Nicole Charlton Goodbrand, interactive media/projection artist Derek Demassi, and Okanagan based architect/visual artist/ writer/ filmmaker Ryan John Arnold have been working in collaboration to further examine the layered complexities of human behaviour and distorted personal realities. The unique nature of our collective work has allowed us to utilizes multiple artistic modalities to interpret a singular idea, allowing it to be presented as one cohesive performance piece, or to be dismantled and presented as stand alone exhibits; visual art, light projections, literary writing, photography, film and dance/performance art.

NICOLE CHARLTON GOODBRAND is a dance artist based in Moh’kinsstis (Calgary, AB). She holds a BA in Dance (UofC), a BA graduate diploma from The School of Alberta Ballet, and a Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Teaching Certificate (RAD, Berlin). Nicole has performed with many renowned Canadian choreographer’s and has presented her own work in DSW’s Alberta Dance Festival and Quick+Dirty Festival, To the Awe, WildDogs International Festival, Dance Montage, and Skylines Dance/Film Series.

ncgbrand.com

RYAN JOHN ARNOLD is Architect/Filmmaker/Artist based in Penticton BC. Throughout his career he has written and directed two feature films -- 'LTD.' (2005) +'SKIDLOVE' (2010) that have screened at national and international festivals. Ryan's visual art has been exhibited across galleries found in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Bruxelles. As an architect, he is currently working on a variety of private and public infrastructure ranging from schools, to private forest dwellings to boutique wineries throughout the Okanagan. His work throughout all mediums explores the relationship between the deconstruction of the body and the construction of both the built and natural environments. Ryan holds a BFA with Distinction (UVIC) and Master of Architecture (UBC), having completed these studies in Canada and Belgium.

ryanjohnarnold.com

DEREK DEMASSI - PROJECTION ARTIST

Derek Demassi is an interactive media artist with a background in information science and biology. Derek seeks opportunities to bridge the gap between science and art. His work experiments with generative visual programming, interaction design and motion capture. Using various design methodologies, mediums or genres, he is continually researching and developing boundary pushing multimedia systems.


Facebook: @nicole.charlton.94
Instagram: @nicolecharltongoodbrand