assume vivid astro focus: avalanches volcanoes asteroids floods

Exhibition Website

Aug 14 2016 - Dec 31 2016

Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara presents avalanches volcanoes asteroids floods, a newly commissioned multi-sensory and site-specific installation by the vibrant New York/Berlin-based artist collective, assume vivid astro focus (avaf).

avaf will produce an immersive and tactile setting that comprises a range of mixed media, including printed rugs mixed with hanging fabric, theatrical backdrops, and wall coverings. A stimulating experience, audiences will be invited to interact with the space by laying on the ground, listening to or playing music, rearranging elements, and creating their own performances using the provided materials and environment. This exhibition will act as a kind of survey or quasi-retrospective of images that avaf has previously utilized in their 10+ career. It will also include documentary pictures of past installations and performances, details of wallpapers, and screenshots of seminal video works. avalanches volcanoes asteroids floods uses the avaf acronym, a play on words or “combo” often utilized by the artists, to refer to our collective anxiety around natural disasters (particularly sensitive in California and Brazil at the moment). More broadly, the title is used to upend the traditionally linear historical survey exhibition, suggesting a more dynamic or vigorous framework.

assume vivid astro focus (avaf) was founded in New York City in 2001 by Eli Sudbrack (b. 1968, Rio de Janeiro, BR) and Christophe Hamaide-Pierson (b. 1973, Paris, FR). The duo often collaborate with musicians, designers, dancers, and other artists to form a hybrid, multidisciplinary body of work. Personal style and a sense of exuberant optimism characterize their aesthetic imprint ... 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

  • Installation
  • International
  • Contemporary
  • Eli Sudbrack
  • Christophe Hamaide-Pierson

Exhibition Venues & Dates