Artificial Eden
What does the landscape of the mind look like in-between states of being?
Artificial Eden was created and filmed on the unceded, traditional lands of the Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw), Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ), and Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations.
This work was originally written as a hybrid performance piece to be presented live. Due to the pandemic, we followed COVID19 safety guidelines and had 32 hours to film, working across 4 different countries, including: Hong Kong; Johannesburg, South Africa; Karachi, Pakistan; and Vancouver, Canada.
Inspired by Nasa’s HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) Experiment, which was an Analog Habitat for Humans on Mars designed to simulate the effects of isolation and group dynamics; the documentary Dogville Confessions; 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick; Solaris by Andre Tarkovsky; Paradis Artificial by Baudelaire; Charles Bukowski’s poems; the documentary Spaceship Earth about the Bisophere 2 experiment; and near death experiences and rebirth. We also kept in mind the alien forensic who might decipher the meaning of our existence, our continued concerns about the current state of the world, and our treatment of the environment.
May 21 & May 22 7:30 PM + May 23 2:00 PM, Vimeo, SFU Goldcorps Centre for the Arts
CREDITS
Performers: Blake Hobson-Dimas, Halima Moola, Eve Middleton-Meyer, Zack Faulks, Hassan Baber, Sterling Weran, Garvin Chan, Tamlin Vetter, Sonja Tan, Sabrina Yu, Ami MacFarlane, Cande Andrade, Henry Ho.
Direction: Erika Latta
Assistant Director: Marina Buston
Director of Photography / Editor: Cande Andrade
Set Design: Marsha Ginsberg
Sound Design: Cristian Hobson-Dimas + Beni Hobson-Dimas (Sleepy Gonzales), Stefan Smulovitz, and Yiannis Christofides
Lighting Design: Jacob Ross
Script / Dramaturgy: Erika Latta in collaboration and co-written with the students of the School for the Contemporary Arts / Simon Fraser University: Hassan Babar, Garvin Chan, Blake Hobson-Dimas, Zachary Faulks, Ami MacFarlane, Eve Middleton-Meyer, Halima Moola, Sonja Tan, Tamlin Vetter, Sabrina Yu, Sterling Weran, Brynne Harper, Emma Savić Kallesøe, and Annabelle Egwalu. Colgate University Students: Rosie Coyle, Matt Cary, Sebastian El Abdellaoui, Clinton Obi and Lindsey Wiley, Brett Hubich, and Marina Buston.
Set Constructions: Great Northern Way
Sound Supervisor / Dialogue Clean Up: Stefan Smulovitz
Director GCA Productions / Events: Miles Lavkulich
Video / Sound Assistant / After Effects: June Hsu
SCA_Production Design (Supervisor): Kyla Gardiner
SCA Technician / Set Install: Paula Viitanen Aldazosa
Costume / Styling and Props: Suzie Zhong / Erika Latta
Stage Managers: Tanvi Doddihal, Yifang (Irene) Weng
Technical Direction: Claudia Chan, Lief Liu
Production Assistant: Brett Hubich
Sound / Audio technician: Rodney Fenske
Lighting / Video technician: Darryl Strohan
SCA Technical Direction: Ben Rogalsky
CA471 Teaching Assistant: Nicole Lamb
SCA Technician / Set Construction: Paula Viitanen
Video Consultant: Wladimiro Woyno
SCA Production Coordinator: Gillian Hanemayer
Film Equipment Supervisor: Corbin Saleken
Communication + Graphic Design: Brady Cranfield
Cantonese Translations: Derek Chan 陳嘉昊 from rice & beans theatre
URDU Translations: Hassan Babar
Quotes: Charles Bukowski, Carl Sagan, Salvador Dali, Beyoncé, Nina Simone, Emily Dickinson, Salvador Dali, Winston Churchhill, Heiner Müller, The Habitat Pod Cast Interview.
Text / Characters inspired by the documentary Dogville Confessions; 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Shining by Stanley Kubrick; Solaris by Andre Tarkovsky; the documentary Spaceship Earth, and the near death experiences of Adam Tapp.