Tvestroy

“This is the voice of Vrillon, a representative of the Ashtar Galactic Command, speaking to you.” Thus starts Tvestroy, whose disturbing introduction featuring text scrolling in the centre of the screen and a synthetic voiceover references an event rare for its time: the 1977 hacking of a British television network by an “extraterrestrial intelligence.” Commander Vrillon warns the human race of an imminent invasion, saying it’s our last chance to divest ourselves of weapons of mass destruction and stop following false prophets who suck away “the energy you call money.” The media hijacking is followed by the SMPTE colour bars used in analogue NTSC television to signify technical difficulties. The image then dissolves into pixels before turning into a rhythmic composition of hypnotic geometric forms that, animated in succession, suggest the seizure of the airwaves by an extraterrestrial intelligence. Presented on 3 screens and 9 CRT televisions, Tvestroy is an experimentation of the link between image and sound. Generated from the same source, sounds and images are not only in synch — they emerge concurrently. The sound is the image. This hypnotic and heavy “electrovideoacoustic” work engulfs the audience in an environment made up of geometrical abstractions and de-structured rhythmic phrases way beyond any compromise.

More by Thomas Ouellet Fredericks