Planet Store performance by kinoMANUAL
StillFrame Cinema
is a multimedia project by the kinoMANUAL duo, in which film projection serves as both a performance and a kinetic installation. Each screening is a separate, unique event, with its eventual shape determined by the particulars of the place, context, and audience gathered around the projection devices. The optical theater, the synesthetic combinations of sound and image, and above all, the idea of extended cinema constitute the direct traditions that find their continuation in the activities of the kinoMANUAL duo.
Aga Jarząb and Maciek Bączyk use old slide projectors, prisms, lenses, and slow-rotating discs to create colorful, moving compositions. The name “StillFrame Cinema” describes the way these compositions are created. Individual, static slides cut from black paper and displayed both on and off screen create a hypnotic, multi-channel projection. Its path intertwines with the accompanying sound performed live. The essence of performance art is the shared immersion in moving images and sound.
As part of the Silent Movie Festival, kinoMANUAL will present the performance titled Planet Store. It is a phantom enterprise that transforms the promise of owning celestial bodies into a comfortable space for contemplation and relaxation. In other words, it is a place where one can't buy anything, but can always watch. After all, as we know, dreams cost nothing. As part of the performance, we can watch light art installations whose main goal is to simulate planetary systems. The Planet Store performance leads towards the stars also through sessions kept in the spirit of expanded cinema, where projection is combined with sound and performance.
kinoMANUAL
an artistic duo (Aga Jarząb and Maciek Bączyk) operating under this name since 2013. They both live and create in Wrocław, and are associated with the Wrocław Academy of Fine Arts. Aga Jarząb is an animator and graphic designer, Maciek Bączyk is a musician involved with various bands (Robotobibok, Małe Instrumenty, Kristen), and currently records with Maciek Polak as the Pin Park duo while developing projects at the intersection of different media, utilizing tools from before the digital revolution. The most important joint project of the kinoMANUAL duo is StillFrame Cinema. The name of the duo has references to its many artistic activities, including live performances, films, installations, widely understood space and object design, as well as creating prototypes. Their common feature is the use of slide projectors as the main source of light. In their works, the duo emphasizes physical contact with the material, revealing the nature of the tools applied, and strongly resonating with the spaces in which they shine their lights. Furthermore, the kinoMANUAL collaborates with many European artistic groups, designs visual identities, and holds exhibitions and performances in Poland and abroad. Their films have won numerous awards at animation and experimental cinema festivals.
