N E S T

why don't you stop for a conversation?

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unnest #1 | Athens

unnest #1 was the first episode of a new format co-curated by Barbara Mulas and Cristina Aguirre and developed after the pilot Conversation #5 “an attempt to unnest” (held in May 2017 in Bristol UK). It was part of Victoria Square Project’ Art Residency program, and it took place in Athens, between a public and a private venue in Elpidos Street, on Sunday December 10th from 2 to 10pm.

Since NEST is a nomadic reality, geographically spread like a rhizome that often changes context, the purpose of the series unnest came from the need to reshape the meaning of what is NEST from place to place & time to time, to further explore the dichotomy of comfort/discomfort applied to the different places it works in.

For this residency, NEST underpinned both Athens’ context (a series of major issues later defined “macro discomfort”) and the presence of the individuals (and his/her comfort-zone, contrarily defined as “micro discomfort”). unnest #1 focus in Athens was around the dichotomy of macro and micro: the study of the macro, yet the recognition of the importance of the micro within it.

The residency was conceived as an experiment, a one-month dialogical conversation developed with and through the contribution of different disciplines, genres and artists’ personal philosophical approaches. The final outcome was an eight-hours performative & interactive event that counted two venues, twelve contributors and more than 70 visitors.

More materials to come In the meanwhile, check SKOLLA’ + LANE special set streamed live from Bristol, available from this link

PERFORMERS & CONTRIBUTORS

Anne Marie Slater Daniele Guerrini Eleonora Gambula Emiliano Mendoza EQUOHM Frankie Mills Gabriella Ferrante Ma Dam Marcelina Obarska Paola Moretti SKOLLA’ + LANE YŪ

THANKS TO

Victoria Square Project Team Eleonora Meoni Jan Uprichard

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#5 | an attempt to unnest

The Conversation #5 was co-curated by Barbara Mulas and Cristina Aguirre, and it took place in Bristol on Saturday May 27th , from 12 to 10pm in a Secret Location, in BS7.

The content of the event came from an evening spent underpinning the essence of NEST Conversations. What it wanted to be, what has been, what it could be. A nest represents a safe place, a sort of comfort zone; but, after analyzing what had been done so far, it had appeared that the idea of comfort and discomfort can be different for everyone, subjective and volatile.

Therefore, to get to its core, it had been felt the need to unnest it again.

The fifth episode explored discomfort, and the consequent reach of comfort, through the contribution of different disciplines, genres and artists’ personal philosophical approaches.

NEST questioned: “Would you push yourself out of your comfort zone? And if so, how?”

The event has been kept mostly offline. Therefore, no photos or videos were permitted.  An official video of what was happening will be revealed on demand and only for wise purposes: we’re sorry if you missed it, but it was part of the game.

Performers & Contributors:

Bad Tracking Kibaflexx Lezicat Milkboi Angel Greenham Robin Dale Mai-lien Brillet Jerico Caterina Ghezzi Lane Skolla Ossia Spacedrome  Hishimura Orree Ralf

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#4 | The Subjective Dictionary of Contamination

The Conversation #4 took place in Bristol on Saturday September 17th , from 5 to 11pm at SPACE, in the Old Market.

NEST presented for the very first time to the public The Subjective Dictionary of Contamination, a collaborative project that takes the form of an independent art & social book exploring the subject of contamination curated by Barbara Mulas.

The idea came from an increasingly progressive awareness of Mulas’ personal fascination toward this term, and the consequent awareness about the impossibility of its circumscription

So far, The Subjective Dictionary of Contamination is composed by twenty-eight contributions. However, since its essence is to stay open, the dictionary is intended to grow, transform, evolve and expand further. 

During NEST Conversations #4 people had the chance to see it, touch it, and fully experience it while enjoying live sound contamination performances by Aaron Brame, ACWA , Osiris , Kibaflexx  and Hishimura.

Click here to leaf through a partial version of the book.

A complete digital version in the form of DVD is available in limited edition for 5£ or 5€.  Send an email to [email protected] for further information.

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#3 NEST Conversations

The Conversation #3 took place in Bristol on Friday July 8th , from 5 to 11pm at SPACE, in the Old Market.

The experience NEST proposed for its third event at SPACE was both private and special. After having hosted the latest works of Cristina Arctor and Essie Valmadre, the Conversation #3 will, therefore, feature NEST itself, which was officially revealed to the public for the first time in its pure essence.

To reveal itself, NEST reshaped SPACE’ venue in to a taste and soft, yet reserved and deep environment made out of individual memories. The first perception entering the room was of chaos: mixed voices and the background sounds  in loop. Then a symbolic nest, a small, fragile and transparent structure, offered to people the opportunity to pause and clearly listen to all the voices. The work depicted a metaphor of the project itself: a confused and blurred first impression that, if experienced with more time and calm, will silently lead to understand its core, and to fall in love with it.

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#2 | Essie Valmadre

The Conversation #2 took place in Bristol on Sunday May 8th , from 2 to 5pm in the basement of the Stokes Croft’ Cafe Kino.

Essie Valmadre (class 1993) proposed for the first time to the public some highly sensorial bites selected from the Novel she is currently working on, “Cheap Chinese & Bad Poetry”.

The setting was composed by hundreds of book fragments spread all over the floor, a corner recreating an adolescent room - also setting of four reads-, an i-Pod with a short informal conversation on the book titled “4:30am chitchat on Cheap Chinese & Bad Poetry”, and a chaotic over voice going in loop. Entering the room people were asked to grab a kit made by a pencil and four pieces of paper. 

Every 30 minutes the author read a chapter from the book - streaming available from here. 

People were invited to write down feelings and sensations about what they just experienced.

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#1 | Cristina Arctor

The Conversation #1 took place in Bristol on April 17th, from 12 noon to 3pm in the basement of the Stokes Croft’ Cafe Kino. 

Cristina Arctor (class 1990) showed the prototype of her socio-aesthetical illustrated book, titled “The Cyber Nomad” (2016), which was available in two copies: one complete and one divided in to five chapters. The show also featured the author’s notebook and calendar, the original illustrations and a sketchbook from 2014. Everyone was invited to touch what on show, pick a copy and read it.

An informal conversation about the book started at 1:15 pm, and it is available from this link.

The complete version of “The Cyber Nomad” is available from this link.