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RUDI VAN DER MERWE

Buzz Riot

Buzz Riot takes inspiration from the internet, particularly the way in which it enables us to consume information. A collective construction, a new tower of Babel, the internet is a boom town, a new frontier whose rules we do not yet fully understand and where new trends in communication keep on popping up. The animated GIF is part of this new world, it speaks of the fragmentation of communication and information into bite-sized pieces, but is also a playful take on appropriation art. By positing that buzz is a form of contamination, a bewitchment that goes ‘viral’, Buzz Riot explores buzz-related phenomenon by means of the animated GIF.Throughout the piece, GIF-inspired loops, join increasingly bigger loops and build towards an incessant crawling of meaning and visual stimuli. Buzz Riot evokes an epic quest with mythical undertones in the midst of this sprawling platform called the internet: a strange land full of monsters and dark corners, perhaps humankind’s ultimate journey… More than ever we are faced with the need for collective action. The internet could be the perfect tool to accomplish this, or on the other hand, be used as an instrument for control and disinformation that prevents all possible escape.

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Length: 50 min

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CAST​

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  • Concept and Choreography: Rudi van der Merwe

  • Performed by: Claire-Marie Ricarte, Rudi van der Merwe

  • Created with: Ondine Cloez

  • Musique: Christian Garcia

  • Light: Laurent Schaer

  • GIF Facilitators: Filippo Gonteri, Victor Roy, Rudi van der Merwe

  • Outside Eye: Laure Chapel

  • Administration: Laure Chapel

  • Production: Skree Wolf

  • Co-Production: ADC de Genève

  • Residencies: théâtre Sévelin 36, Tanzhaus Zürich

  • With the support of: Ville de Genève, Loterie Romande, Fondation Nestlé pour l’Art

  • With thanks to: Susana Panadès Diaz, Kata Tòth, Cindy van Acker, ADC de Genève, théâtre Sévelin 36, Tanzhaus Zürich

 

PERFORMANCES/SCREENINGS​

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  • 6-10 April 2016, ADC de Genève, Geneva

  • 7 September 2018, Cannes Short Film Festival, Nice – best experimental film

  • 16, 17 October 2018, Backslash festival, Zurich

  • 29 November to 8 December 2018, Directors Circle Festival of Shorts, Erie, Pennsylvania

  • 2018/19 official selection, Dança em Foco, International Festival of Video and Dance

  • 23 September 2019, 16th IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival, Varna – best experimental film

  • 9 October 2019, official selection Blow-Up International Arthouse Filmfest, Chicago, Illinois

  • 27 February 2020, Festival one-two-three, Novosibirsk

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