The Art of Looping

I had a great time at Queensland College of the Arts (QCA) this week at an intensive workshop with some of Griffith’s most talented artists. Here’s an overview of what we did for our 2-day The Art of Looping Workshop – Enjoy!

@victoriawareham

Day 1

I arrived at the QCA Southbank Design Studio and met my usual partner in creative crime, Claire Tracey. I’ve not been to the studio before and was impressed with the setup. The room had workstations set up with screens and we were issued with extra equipment and tools like speakers, MP3 recorders and other technical materials we would need. We all had mobile phones and a few, like me, had their laptops as well.

There were 19 participants in total, three of whom I knew. So it was a good mixture of mostly new and some familiar faces.

After an intro from the organisers, our presenter Alex Murray-Leslie showed us some of her latest work which explores electronic footwear, lights, environs and video – very interesting!

Then we went around the group and introduced ourselves and our art practice.

We then moved to a different space and took notes as each person read aloud a section from one of the texts they had bought. The readings ranged from textbooks, academic journals, song lyrics, children’s books and people’s own musings. We did a free writing activity and then got into set up in our “looping’ groups” just before lunch.

My Looping team consisting of three other amazing artists: Xhaohui Yang, Paula Payne, Hannah Reardon-Smith and me. Paula is a terrific painter, Hannah is a flautist with the Conservatorium and Xhaohui brought a few of her amazing pieces with her and we ended up using them every day.

After lunch, we all visited fellow Looper Karen Stone’s exhibition and heard her speak about her work. My team ended up staying in the exhibition space to continue filming – and we got a number of impromptu vignettes there …like…

Then we had free time to start shooting short videos. Our team spent the rest of the afternoon trialling and erroring ideas, discussing, designing and investigating how things could work when looped.

We spent the rest of the afternoon working on little projects in pairs and as a group. It was good fun to work with other people and it was a deliberately open format, so we could self-direct and follow ideas as much or as little as we wanted.

I was pretty tired by the end of the first day. Once I got home, I did a 29 min Teacher’s Tech crash Youtube course on DaVinci Resolve 14. I have had this editing software on my computer for some time, but have not made the time yet to use it. As we were one of the groups that didn’t have a video expert, it was the ideal time to learn new skills. The crash course was just enough to hack together a few ideas – perfect!

Day 2

Most people brought ‘extras’ on the second day: costumes, makeup, props, jewellery, pieces of our own art – and I brought in Leki. We started out by going on an ‘excursion’. Those with outfits put them on, others lugged gear and props. We wandered around Southbank and heading over The Goodwill Bridge and into the Gardens on the other side shooting scenes and scenarios as we went. It was great fun.

We explored lawns, garden beds, went up trees, into drains, through car parks, down flights of stairs, sat on rocks and cause some happy mayhem along the way. All the while in colourful costumes, sprouting text and being directed by fellow Loopers – much to the curiosity of random passerbys.

On one particular sortie, Claire, Alex and I found ourselves on Level 6 of the QUT Law building, whereI rode Leki across an overpass while poor Law students undertook a Law exam next door – we were quietly respectful, but the contrast between the two groups was palpable- good luck students!

After our excursion, we all headed back to the Design Studio and spent some time collating, editing and exporting our Loops. They were raw, rough and fun.

As you would expect, each team produced totally different loops. They varied widely in concept, production and technical delivery. It was really interesting to see what others had been working on and what were we able to produce in such a short space of time.

As a final showcase, filled every screen in the Design Studio with team loops, so we could walk around and see what people had been working on. Quite a few academics also came down to see our final presentations – it looked awesome.

Take-aways of time spent Looping

I was really inspired and impressed by the work and skills of my Looper team and the other participants.
It was great working on set with Claire again – we have such great creative synergy. It reminded me that public art and performance are so engaging and fun to create, but also that it is hard work.
I really enjoyed the variety of activities: I liked the warm-up intro, reading and writing that lead to the group work – it worked well to orientate us and get the creative juices flowing.
I liked that the open format pushed me to relax into whatever was happening, to relinquish the idea that ‘I need to know what I am doing’ or always have structure – the learning was organic.
I learnt a new skill (DaVinci Resolve Software) enough to put together an experimental short clip – which I would not have done in such a way if I had not done the workshop.
It was also great to have designated adult play-time – what a joy! So precious!
My team were easy going, innovative and everyone brought something to the table – and it was lovely being in a space where there was no right or wrong ideas or actions – just ‘seeing what might happen if we do this’ or ‘Let’s try X here’ – such a rare delight!
It was also great to get about and about in Brisbane to do some live shooting. I was very proud crossing The Goodwill Bridge with my fellow Loopers and being part of this beautiful, courageous, colourfully-dressed band of creatives exploring the city streets, buildings and gardens of Brisbane.

Looper Awards of Excellence

For a finale, Claire and I awarded each of our fellow loopers (and fearless leaders) a custom-made recycled Looper Award of Excellence medal, each of which we had made out of an array of recycled materials like bike inner tubes and parts, beer caps, repurposed bits-and-bobs, jewellery pieces and other found objects (see below). Just doing our bit to get more bikes in the creative arts!!

Thank you!

A massive thank you to Beck and Sue for organising this event.

To Alex for running the workshop – we had a great time!

To my team for being right there with me – you were awesome!

To all our other fellow loopers … for being equally amazing!

I can’t wait for the next workshop!

21/06/201823/06/2018

Looping with the Chicks on Speed

Hooray! Exams are over for students – Congrats to all! As a reward for a busy week marking exam essays, I registered for a wicked 2-day creative workshop called The Art of Looping run by Alex Murray-Leslie (from Chicks on Speed – OMG!). I am super excited and can’t wait! Here is what we’ll be doing.. (no…not wrestling bike monsters like the Gif below – although it is a loop..below, below!! NG.)

Source: @electriccyclery via GIPHY

Looping with the Chicks on Speed

This workshop is a unique opportunity for a small, select group of Griffith HDR creatives. I wanted to come not only for the creative experience and to gain new skills, ideas and motivation, but also as it was a great chance to meet and work with Alex -who is a seemingly inexhaustible artistic icon and source of craftspiration.

This session especially was super popular, so I was happily surprised I was able to register as it booked out very soon after! Lucky!

For this workshop, we will be working in the Design Studios at QCA South Bank Campus. We need to bring three diverse texts we find engaging for our current practice and a mobile phone with video editing capabilities (if we have it).

The Art of Looping: Ephemeral and tangible experiences expressed through costume, performance, spoken word, sound, choreography and action!

What we will be doing – The workshop seeks to create new understandings and opportunities to encounter and exchange using mobile phones as a tool to foster interaction between participants and collective works using audiovisual looping as an artistic method.

Organised in an experimental and engaging format (we decide together at the start of the workshop) the different student groups create a theatre of making; processes of learning and unlearning, performed, documented and edited on the spot with their mobile phones.

Our stages will be the neighbourhoods surrounding the university and the final composition will be informed by chance encounters over the 2-day workshop.

Our presenter – Alexandra Murray-Leslie conducted her PhD research at Creativity and Cognition Studios, The University of Technology, Sydney. She is co-founder of Chicks on Speed, an internationally renowned art ensemble. Alex’s current practice-based research is Fashion Acoustics: wearable musical instrument design for live-art performance focussing on the development of computer-enhanced footwear for aerial dance practice and musical composition with possible health applications.

Looping with the Chicks on Speed. Bicycles Create Change.com 20th May, 2018 — Source: Alex performing at the 2017 Wear It Festival (Berlin).

Attendance – This 2-day masterclass is offered by the Griffith Centre for Creative Arts Research for Queensland College of Art & Griffith Film School Higher Degree Researchers only. Limited registrations.

Organisers – this event has been organised by Professor Susan Best, Director GCCAR and Dr Beck Davis, HDR Convenor QCA & GFS. (A big thanks to them both! NG).

I’m keen to meet some new people, learn some new tech skills and have some designated time set aside for some serious creative explorations – wooohooo!

More about Alex and Chicks on Speed

Below is a great ABC Arts segment that shows just how awesome Alex and the Chicks on Speed are.

Alex Murray-Leslie is an artist/researcher and curator, working in the areas of computational foot-wearables, digital music instrument design, Pop Music & Live-Art.

Alex recently completed her PhD in the Faculty of Engineering and IT (Creativity and Cognition Studios, UTS) and is the research fellow at Art and Design Research Incubator (Dept. of Sports Science (Penn State Uni.) and The Music Tech. Group at University Pompeu Fabre (Barcelona).

Recent projects include: Curator of the worlds first wearable technology in Fashion Film competition, Diane Pernet presents ASVOFF 9, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2016.

Alex performs, curates, lectures & exhibits internationally, alongside writing for scientific journal and book publications.

16/06/201818/06/2018

Effect of Virtual Reality on Cycling Performance- Lab Rat

As a PhD researcher myself, I know first-hand how much work goes into a research project. So where possible, I like to help out other researchers as a participant or lab rat.

In the past, I’ve been a research participant for the Education, Psychology and Health Sciences Departments.

My most recent foray was an invitation to be a research participant for Nicole T’s School of Applied Psychology PhD research project, which is looking at how Virtual Reality impacts cycling performance – wicked!

I was interested in this project, not only because of the cycling, but also for the VR component of this project. I have previously worked with other educational VR, AR and fully immersive experiences, but never with cycling, so I was keen to see what this simulator was like.

Effect of Virtual Reality on Cycling - Lab Rat. Bicycles Create Change.com 16th May, 2018 — I’ve used fully immersive AR technologies and platforms (above – complete with cycling cap and bicycle print top of course!), but mostly for educational and entertainment purposes, not research.

Effect of Virtual Reality on Cycling Performance- Lab Rat Experience

So, this time, I went to Griffith’s Gold Coast Campus, got suited up, completed a battery of psych questionnaires before and after riding a stationary bike – and got amongst it!

Why is the research being conducted?

Nicole’s research examines the effect of the presence of the competitor in a virtual environment during a stationary cycling task. The possible performance benefits of using feedback within a virtual reality environment was the primary focus. Female participants only for this project.

After I had completed my full session, Nicole let me know more of what she was really looking for – oohhhhh! Of course, she could not let me know all the details prior, as it may have skewed my (or any other potential participants) involvement and data results. In order to maintain the project’s integrity, I’ll only give approved general info about the project here as well.

What I was asked to do

I was in the VR lab for 90 minutes, during which I did heaps, like:

Answered demographic questions, had my height and weight measured and I completed the Sports Medicine in Australia pre-exercise screening system.

Then, Nicole hooked me up to heart rate and respiratory rate monitor. She instructed me on how to use the stationary bicycle and appropriate technique – and I undertook a practice trail to become familiar with the exercise and the VR environment

Next, I jumped on the bike and had to cycle to the best of my ability to assess the intensity level (which was defined as 70 revolutions per minute while maintaining 70% heart rate reserve or until 30 minutes had elapsed.

During the cycling task, I had to continually respond verbally to a Rating of the Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale every three minutes.

I also had to complete quite a few psych questionnaires, including:

International Physical Activity Questionnaire
Long form (IPAQ-LF)
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)
Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PAES)
Exercise Thoughts Questionnaire (ETQ)
Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI)
Feedback Rating, Self-control Questionnaire
GRIT inventory
Self-efficacy Questionnaire
Revisited Competitiveness Index (RCI)
Reality Judgement and Presence Questionnaire

So how was it?

I had great fun and did the best I could.

I took the project seriously and answered all questions honestly.

I laughed at myself because, even though I was in the lab, I still indicated turns with my arms each and every time I turned (I must have looked hilarious to Nicole, who was watching me on the screen in the lab next door).

At times I found myself bracing in anticipation when approaching uneven surfaces and cobble stones.

The simulation was basic but detailed enough to create an alternative environment. It had some good details in it like normal everyday urban encounters that had corresponding noises (pedestrians walking down the street and as I passed them, I heard the music they had playing, dogs barking, bird songs, etc).

The cycling part was no problem and I enjoyed using the VR simulation, which required me to ride around a fictitious city.

I giggled at some of the shops and department store names – they had been modified (branding) to have a very similar logo to some well known big brands, but the name was slightly different (McDowell’s anyone?) It totally reminded me of Coming to America!

At times, the VR was a little weird as it was based on an American context and had a few odd aspects for Australians (like cars parked on the wrong side of the road).

I was not totally sold on that particular program – but then again, it was not designed to be ‘enjoyable’, totally immersive or as a cycling training tool. I never really ‘left’ the lab I was in to ‘enter’ the simulation. But, it was for research purposes, not a fully immersive VR expereince – and so fulfilled its role.

After we were finished, Nicole was able to give me some feedback about my performance, some of which I found surprising …. sorry – no details on this, as the project is ongoing!

Overall, I was glad to have the VR experience and get some personalised biodata on my cycling performance as well as being able to support Nicole in her research.

If you get an opportunity to use a VR cycling simulator – give it a try for something different!

And best of luck to Nicole for her research!

10/06/201817/06/2018

Beat Plastic Pollution – on your bike

Plastic is a systemic global issue. As a local Morton Bay rider, I regularly see first-hand the terrible environmental and sealife impact of plastic pollution in our oceans and waterways.

I hope that cyclists and bike riders are active role models – both on AND off the bike – for their families, teams and communities of individuals who are taking positive steps to address the plastic pollution problem.

What do you do as a bike rider to promote a more sustainable, plastic-free future?

Beat Plastic Pollution on your bike! Bicycles Create Change.com 10th May, 2018 — Garbage covers the beach days after an extended storm hit the shoreline of Zouq Mosbeh, north of Beirut, Lebanon, on January 22, 2018. Environmentalists say the winter storm pushed a wave of trash onto Lebanese shores, stirring outrage over a waste-management crisis that has choked the country since 2015. Image: Hussein Malla- AP

Plastic pollution is a major social and environmental issue.

There is a growing global awareness of the collective action now needed to deal with the amount of plastic that already exists, and greater pressure for people to take more immediate and direct personal and community responsibility to reduce current single-use (and use in general) plastics.

This week was a perfect case in point, with two major international commemorative dates spotlighting the growing worldwide plastic issue.

June 5th was World Environment Day. The theme this year was ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. For me, the most compelling evidence for World Environment Day came from a series of photos curated by Alan Taylor, (some of which are shown here) which details the disturbing importance, scope and severity of impacts of plastics in various places around the world.

Then, a few days later, on June 8th, it was World Ocean Day. The focus was again was on plastics – but this time on preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for healthier oceans.

Beat Plastic Pollution – on your bike.

So what has plastics got to do with cycling and bike riding?

A few cyclists have really taken this issue to heart

In her article for Adventurers Against Plastic, Helen Taylor showcased a number of athlete/activists who are working to raise awareness and clean up of plastics. Of these, there are two cyclists from London who are combining their creativity, ingenuity and love of cycling to tackle the plastic issue head-on. Here is what Helen said about the two bike-inspired eco-projects:

1. Dave Cornthwaite.

Dave is the founder of London-based social enterprise SayYesMore, has organised a 1,000-mile community relay along England’s rivers and canals, where a different person each day will ride a specially-made aquatic bicycle whilst removing plastic rubbish from waterways.

He aims to remove one million pieces of rubbish in 25 counties engaging youth groups, schools, and local clean-up initiatives along the way and says: “All in all, not one group, individual or project can solve all aspects of the issue, but it takes a communal mindset to instigate change. Using an innovative adventure relay to get more people outside will help with this – ultimately if people don’t walk or paddle along rivers they don’t care about what’s going on there. If they see for themselves bottles and crisp packets floating alongside wildlife, they’re more likely to take action.”

2. Dhruv Boruah.

Dhruv is also using a quirky handmade bamboo waterbike to solve the plastic crisis at the source. As part of his Thames Project, Dhruv has been engaging the public in the issue by using his eye-catching waterbike contraption to collect plastic litter.

Dhruv realises that reactive cleaning isn’t the solution to the problem, but sees the project as an educational process: “Cleaning up is a good way of showing people what’s in the canal, it’s a good way to get people involved, when they come and see what’s in the canal they go back home and think twice – adventure activists need to go in and interact with local communities, engage with them and get them out in their spaces and on the waterways.”

Dhruv has also been lobbying policymakers – environmental charities, London councils and the Mayor of London’s office, the BBC, and large supermarket chains – to encourage them to change their single-use plastic habits, as well as promoting a circular economy.

Such bicycle projects are admirable.

But not all cyclists need to go to such lengths to take action.

I like to think that my fellow cyclists make their own regular and impactful contributions to improving the environment and reduce plastic waste.

This may be making your own power snacks that forge the copious amounts of packaging used in gel packs, to picking up pieces of rubbish during a ride where possible and putting them in the bin at the cafe at the end of a ride. Seemingly small actions like these are not only needed and necessary, but also demonstrate that cyclists are taking definitive action to reduce plastic pollution.

So next time you are out riding, think about one easy step you are comfortable that will help to reduce plastic dependency and that shows cyclists and bike riders actively care for our beautiful environs.

May all your rides be plastic reduced!

All Images sourced from Adventure Uncovered, Canal Boat.com & The Atlantic

05/06/201814/06/2018

Happy World Bicycle Day 2018

Happy Inaugural World Bicycle Day 2018!!

I hope you, your bike and your riding mates had a great day yesterday.

I had an awesome time riding Leki ALL DAY!

Leki and I cruised around our local neighbourhood, caught up with friends, locals and other riders. In fact, I rode so much that I ended up loosing my voice and was quite tender the next day. Success!

Ride more, be happy, get fit, enjoy the outdoors and build positive community!

World Bicycle Day 2018

According to the UN, the aim of World Bicycle Day (WBD) is to :

devote particular attention to the bicycle in cross-cutting development strategies and to include the bicycle in international, regional, national and subnational development policies and programmes;
encourage improvements in road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design, in particular through policies and measures to actively protect and promote pedestrian safety and cycling mobility, with a view to broader health outcomes, particularly the prevention of injuries and non-communicable diseases;
encourage stakeholders to emphasize and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, promoting health, preventing disease, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace;
Encourages the adoption of best practices and means to promote the bicycle among all members of society, and in this regard welcomes initiatives to organize bicycle rides at the national and local levels as a means of strengthening physical and mental health and well-being and developing a culture of cycling in society.

A lone bicyclist speeds through traffic on a busy street in Brooklyn, New York, USA. UN Photo/Andre Istria Source: UN Photo/Andre Istria

There were many events locally and internationally celebrated World Bicycle Day.

Below are three places – one in Australia (Adelaide, South Australia) and two international (India and Denmark), that caught my eye this year.

RADelaide (Adelaide, South Australia).

I have a particular place in my heart for biking and Adelaide. It is a city that has an unwaviering passion for cycling – as well as being stunningly beautiful and having some of the freindliest locals I’ve met (and all of them were bike crazy!)

The last time I was in Adelaide, was to attended the 2017 Australian Walking and Cycling Conference, where I also presented a session called Creating Memorable Community Bike Projects.

So I was interested to see what Adelaide did for WBD 2018.

The Port Adelaide Bicycle Users Group (PortBUG), celebrated World Bike Day 2018 with a BISA/Bike SA Community Ride from Victoria Park to Elder Park. This event had several hundred bicyclists turned up all ready to celebrate in style as you can see below…

India

India is an important place to include for World Bicycle Day (June 3rd) as it is also the official host for World Environment Day (6th June).

In India, it was the politicians getting involved to celebrate World Bicycle Day.

In New Dehli, Vice President Naidu (below on the bike) said that “cycling is the best and cheapest form of exercise to keep ourselves healthy and people must be encouraged to adopt such environment-friendly mode of transport.”

One of the local newspapers, the Daily Kiran reported that VP Naidu addressed “a gathering of cyclists and environmentalists after inaugurating the Bicycle Rally and NDMC’s Smart Cycle Station for Public Bike Sharing on the occasion.

He said that the campaign to promote the use of bicycle must be taken up on a sustained basis and it should not be confined to a ritualistic exercise on the World Bicycle Day”.

Denmark

Copenhagen and Amsterdam are well known for consistently being the top two cities in the world for cycling. Both capital cities are considered to be the benchmark that other places look to for ways to improve urban cycling planning, infrastructure and participation.

This fun fact-filled video released for World Bicycle Day 2018 by Visit Demark servers not only as an inspiration to aspire towards, but also as a wonderful promotion for the best that urban cycling can offer. Here’s to hoping…(*sigh*)!

However you chose to celebrate it

I hope you had a fun first ever World Bicycle Day!

Viva la Bici! Happy riding all!