King of Chlorophyll | ACIER/ECKE | suddenly I was alone / d'un tratto ero sola | Je vis, je meurs | MAP; gest | bury me at sea | sitting : room
De Profundis | Servicemaster (2017) | with(out) | W̱SÁNEĆ SPW̱ELLO | Unless | Houseforest | servicemaster (2016) | Africville: 1964-1970 | Bee Verse
De Profundis | Servicemaster (2017) | with(out) | W̱SÁNEĆ SPW̱ELLO | Unless | Houseforest | servicemaster (2016) | Africville: 1964-1970 | Bee Verse
King of Chlorophyll
21.04.2021 | Virtual release, Continuum Contemporary Ensemble
Audiovisual work
Audiovisual work
King of Chlorophyll: a drag arborist graphic audio chapbook
Original text, music, drag, makeup/costumes, collage and video by Kim Farris-Manning
Music performed by Continuum Contemporary Ensemble
Text inspired by and based on:
Poem I of "Twenty-One Love Poems" from The Dream of a Common Language by Adrienne Rich,
and
"Queer Grace" from Where the Words End and My Body Begins by Amber Dawn.
I was first introduced to the glosa in Amber Dawn’s Where the Words End and My Body Begins, and was especially inspired by her poem “Queer Grace,” which “glosses” Poem I of “Twenty-One Love Poems” in Adrienne Rich’s The Dream of a Common Language. I have in turn written a work that glosses both works (although rather flexibly compared with the original form, from early Renaissance Spain). This project began as a creative way to explore my queerer sides when I abruptly moved from a rainbow apartment on St. Catherine Street in Montreal to be with family in an Ottawa suburb during the pandemic. The move coincided with my haphazard entry into arboriculture and the art of climbing trees – and the rest grew from there. King of Chlorophyll is intended to be read, listened to, watched, looked at, flipped through, mixed up and/or absorbed by people of all sorts and ages.
You can read and then listen,
listen and then read,
read and listen,
readlistenreadlistenreadlisten.
Recorded at the Canadian Music Centre (Toronto) As part of PIVOT 2021, Episode 3, premiered April 22, 2021 at 7pm.
Original text, music, drag, makeup/costumes, collage and video by Kim Farris-Manning
Music performed by Continuum Contemporary Ensemble
- Carol Fujino, violin
- Paul Widner, cello
- Gregory Oh, piano
Text inspired by and based on:
Poem I of "Twenty-One Love Poems" from The Dream of a Common Language by Adrienne Rich,
and
"Queer Grace" from Where the Words End and My Body Begins by Amber Dawn.
I was first introduced to the glosa in Amber Dawn’s Where the Words End and My Body Begins, and was especially inspired by her poem “Queer Grace,” which “glosses” Poem I of “Twenty-One Love Poems” in Adrienne Rich’s The Dream of a Common Language. I have in turn written a work that glosses both works (although rather flexibly compared with the original form, from early Renaissance Spain). This project began as a creative way to explore my queerer sides when I abruptly moved from a rainbow apartment on St. Catherine Street in Montreal to be with family in an Ottawa suburb during the pandemic. The move coincided with my haphazard entry into arboriculture and the art of climbing trees – and the rest grew from there. King of Chlorophyll is intended to be read, listened to, watched, looked at, flipped through, mixed up and/or absorbed by people of all sorts and ages.
You can read and then listen,
listen and then read,
read and listen,
readlistenreadlistenreadlisten.
Recorded at the Canadian Music Centre (Toronto) As part of PIVOT 2021, Episode 3, premiered April 22, 2021 at 7pm.
suddenly I was alone / d'un tratto ero sola
09.01.2021 | Virtual release, SING THE NORTH
Audiovisual work
Audiovisual work
Conceived / led by The Paramorph Collective (Kim Farris-Manning and An-Laurence Higgins)
Performed and created by/with the virtual choir "SING THE NORTH"
“suddenly I was alone/d’un tratto ero sola” is a 24-minute musical/poetic/musical comprovisationnal work composed in collaboration with the virtual choir “SING THE NORTH”, a community choir based in Canada, but welcoming anyone who wishes to join via internet. The project, conceived and led by The Paramorph Collective, invited the virtual choir 46 participants to improvise with voice, objects or instruments, create their own melodies based out of pre-composed melodies, produce home-made video clips, or write poetry based on their dreams. The material generated has subsequently been edited into a whole new 6-part work with 5 interludes, a prelude and a postlude.
Performed and created by/with the virtual choir "SING THE NORTH"
“suddenly I was alone/d’un tratto ero sola” is a 24-minute musical/poetic/musical comprovisationnal work composed in collaboration with the virtual choir “SING THE NORTH”, a community choir based in Canada, but welcoming anyone who wishes to join via internet. The project, conceived and led by The Paramorph Collective, invited the virtual choir 46 participants to improvise with voice, objects or instruments, create their own melodies based out of pre-composed melodies, produce home-made video clips, or write poetry based on their dreams. The material generated has subsequently been edited into a whole new 6-part work with 5 interludes, a prelude and a postlude.
MAP; gest
Italo Calvino's "Invisible Cities" weaves an incredible web of narratives that brings the very nature of perspective into question, asking: what is the point of reference?
"The fundamental problem of maps is that the earth is a sphere and that paper is flat." A similar quandary exists with musical scores, as with anything that lies on the border of imagination and representation; the danger being that if you write down a lie, it might look like the truth.
The score for this piece mimics the form of a conical projection and functions somewhat as a navigational chart. The performer responds to the material before them, engaging ad interacting with the changes of each iteration. MAP; gest elicits a spiral effect inherent to conic projections; the further the performer travels into the cone, the more the relationships they encounter become distorted. No matter how close we return to the point of reference, the result will always be different.
"The fundamental problem of maps is that the earth is a sphere and that paper is flat." A similar quandary exists with musical scores, as with anything that lies on the border of imagination and representation; the danger being that if you write down a lie, it might look like the truth.
The score for this piece mimics the form of a conical projection and functions somewhat as a navigational chart. The performer responds to the material before them, engaging ad interacting with the changes of each iteration. MAP; gest elicits a spiral effect inherent to conic projections; the further the performer travels into the cone, the more the relationships they encounter become distorted. No matter how close we return to the point of reference, the result will always be different.
09.02.2020 | L'Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal
Composition
Composition
Performed by Adrian Foster (organ and electronics)
(recording unavailable)
(recording unavailable)
29.02.2020 | L'Amphitéâtre - Le Gesù
Composition
Composition
Performed by Adrian Foster (organ and electronics)
Video by Kim Farris-Manning and An-Laurence Higgins
Videography by Nick Jewell
Video by Kim Farris-Manning and An-Laurence Higgins
Videography by Nick Jewell
07.07.2020 | St. John the Divine (Victoria)
Composition
Composition
Performed by David Stratkauskas (organ and electronics)
Presented at the Royal Canadian College of Organists' Online Festival
Animation by Kim Farris-Manning
Video editing by An-Laurence Higgins and Mark McDonald
Videography by Nick Jewel
Presented at the Royal Canadian College of Organists' Online Festival
Animation by Kim Farris-Manning
Video editing by An-Laurence Higgins and Mark McDonald
Videography by Nick Jewel
01.03.2021 | Virtual
3D animation
3D animation
Version with 3D animation coming soon - watch a demo below!
3D animation by Sai Win Myint Oo
Performed by David Stratkauskas (organ and electronics)
2D Animation by Kim Farris-Manning
Video editing by An-Laurence Higgins and Mark McDonald
Videography by Nick Jewel
3D animation by Sai Win Myint Oo
Performed by David Stratkauskas (organ and electronics)
2D Animation by Kim Farris-Manning
Video editing by An-Laurence Higgins and Mark McDonald
Videography by Nick Jewel
bury me at sea
15.06.2019 | Conservatoire de musique de Montréal
Audiovisual text-based comprovisation
Audiovisual text-based comprovisation
Text by Kasia Juno (Sea Burial Laws According to Country)
Voice & tape: Kim Farris-Manning
Clarinet, bass clarinet, video: Christine Elizabeth Hoerning
Sitar (processed): Christophe Cinq
Cello: Ethan R. Mitchell
Piano: Ana Alfonsina Mora Flores
Induction instruments: L. Alexis Emelianoff
Performed and created at the Montreal Contemporary Music Lab.
Voice & tape: Kim Farris-Manning
Clarinet, bass clarinet, video: Christine Elizabeth Hoerning
Sitar (processed): Christophe Cinq
Cello: Ethan R. Mitchell
Piano: Ana Alfonsina Mora Flores
Induction instruments: L. Alexis Emelianoff
Performed and created at the Montreal Contemporary Music Lab.
sitting : room
15.06.2019 | Conservatoire de musique de Montréal
Text-based electroacoustic improvisation
Text-based electroacoustic improvisation
Harp+
Harp & electronics: Grace Scheele
Synthesizer & percussion: Dave Klassen
Viola & electronics: Arie Verheul-van de Ven
Cards: Kim Farris-Manning
Performed and created at the Montreal Contemporary Music Lab.
Harp & electronics: Grace Scheele
Synthesizer & percussion: Dave Klassen
Viola & electronics: Arie Verheul-van de Ven
Cards: Kim Farris-Manning
Performed and created at the Montreal Contemporary Music Lab.
servicemaster (2017)
05.09.2017 - 07.09.2017 | Chapel of the New Jerusalem, Christ Church Cathedral (Victoria, BC)
Audio-visual installation
Audio-visual installation
Sound and video: Thomas Nicholson
Sculpture: Kim Farris-Manning
Sculpture: Kim Farris-Manning
Driving — "going for a drive" — typically the experience of “driving” is linked with the act of going somewhere or the physical motion of going from place to place.
Questions:
What about the drive itself? Could it be more than an intermediate act between being in two places? What might you [unexpectedly] notice if you were not actively participating in the act of driving? Is “going for a drive” unquestionably linked to physically being in a car? What’s more, can a replica artificially capture the essence and wonder of something without being the thing itself? Which senses are essentially wedded to the experience of certain phenomena and what kind of role might art play?
Motion without movement — sensation without physical contact — going somewhere without going anywhere — certain [seemingly contradictory] experiences are taken for granted until you suddenly consider them in relief of their associated mundanities.
Questions:
What about the drive itself? Could it be more than an intermediate act between being in two places? What might you [unexpectedly] notice if you were not actively participating in the act of driving? Is “going for a drive” unquestionably linked to physically being in a car? What’s more, can a replica artificially capture the essence and wonder of something without being the thing itself? Which senses are essentially wedded to the experience of certain phenomena and what kind of role might art play?
Motion without movement — sensation without physical contact — going somewhere without going anywhere — certain [seemingly contradictory] experiences are taken for granted until you suddenly consider them in relief of their associated mundanities.
with(out)
24.06.2017 | 918 Bathurst (Toronto, ON)
Composition and sculpture
Composition and sculpture
Composition/sculpture: Kim Farris-manning
Flute: Monique Aubé
Alto saxophone: Gavin Goodwin
Tenor saxophone: Marta Tiesenga
Electric guitar: Graham Banfield
Double bass: Gaspard Daigle
Electronics: Kristian Podlacha
Flute: Monique Aubé
Alto saxophone: Gavin Goodwin
Tenor saxophone: Marta Tiesenga
Electric guitar: Graham Banfield
Double bass: Gaspard Daigle
Electronics: Kristian Podlacha
Piece for flute, alto and tenor saxophones, electric guitar, double bass and electronics. Developed and performed as part of the Toronto Creative Music Lab.
W̱SÁNEĆ SPW̱ELLO
12.04.2017 | SṈAḴE (Mt. Tolmie, Victoria)
Audio-visual Installation
Audio-visual Installation
TEXT as told by STOLȻEL, STIWET, and XEDXELMEȽOT
DANCE by students of the grade 3 SENĆOŦEN immersion class
MUSIC performed by students from the University of Victoria
COMPOSITION & SCULPTURE by Kimberley Farris-Manning
CHOREOGRAPHY by Lori Hamar and students of the grade 3 SENĆOŦEN immersion class
DANCE by students of the grade 3 SENĆOŦEN immersion class
MUSIC performed by students from the University of Victoria
COMPOSITION & SCULPTURE by Kimberley Farris-Manning
CHOREOGRAPHY by Lori Hamar and students of the grade 3 SENĆOŦEN immersion class
Combining contemporary art and music, W̱SÁNEĆ SPW̱ELLO was an artistic collaboration between students from the ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ tribal school and the University of Victoria. Bringing together artists, students, elders, Indigenous people and settlers, this performance created a forum for thought and discussion, surrounding respecting and honouring the earth and its people. Featuring approximately 30 minutes of music, dance and sculpture on the concrete platform at the summit of SṈAḴE, the 'audience' was able to walk freely around the platform throughout the performance.
Unless
17.03.2017 | University of Victoria
Fixed Media
Fixed Media
Combines excerpts from The Lorax (Dr. Seuss), Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown), Love You Forever (Robert Munsch), and the George W. Bush Coloring Book (Karen Ocker and Joley Wood).
READERS Jamie Farris-Manning, Jordan Bouchard, Dougal McLean, Peter Farris-Manning, and Christopher Butterfield.
READERS Jamie Farris-Manning, Jordan Bouchard, Dougal McLean, Peter Farris-Manning, and Christopher Butterfield.
Houseforest
16.04.2016-17.04.2016 | 1708 Kisber Avenue (Victoria, BC)
Audio-visual Installation
Audio-visual Installation
Installation and live house performance using transducers: featuring students, alumni and staff from the University of Victoria.
Africville: 1964-1970
28.03.2015 | University of Victoria (Victoria, BC)
12-minute Opera
12-minute Opera
Composition/libretto/artistic direction: Kim Farris-Manning
Quotations from "Remember Africville" (Shelagh Mackenzie, NFB)
Movement/choreography: Kelsey Wheatley
Recording: Richard Bailey
Projector Operator: Wilfred Lynch
Soprano: Becca Thackray
Mezzo-soprano: Emily Stewart
Alto: Marlena Kurek
Tenor: Nic Renaud
Bass: Kenji Lee
Harmonica: Gillian Newburn
Harmonium: Liam Gibson
Steel Drum: Julia Albano-Crockford
Quotations from "Remember Africville" (Shelagh Mackenzie, NFB)
Movement/choreography: Kelsey Wheatley
Recording: Richard Bailey
Projector Operator: Wilfred Lynch
Soprano: Becca Thackray
Mezzo-soprano: Emily Stewart
Alto: Marlena Kurek
Tenor: Nic Renaud
Bass: Kenji Lee
Harmonica: Gillian Newburn
Harmonium: Liam Gibson
Steel Drum: Julia Albano-Crockford
12-minute staged opera with original libretto, depicting the Nova Scotian town of Africville between 1964-1970. Performed by students at the University of Victoria.