Next week, artist Symoné will share their work Nullspace Motel, where audiences can step into a digital world where game and stage intertwine.
We caught up with Symoné to discover more about Nullspace Motel and its accompanying installation, Highway to Infinity.
Q: Nullspace Motel blends live art, pole and contemporary dance with non-linear storytelling. What inspired you to combine these specific mediums to create this work at this particular time in the digital age?
A: Back in 2023, I knew I wanted my next piece to be about the unconcious and that it had to be a video game. It just made sense that it wasn’t a show held in front of a passive audience, so in a dance or circus environment for example.
I think once I began building the show, it was really clear in my mind how it needed to be told, that it would have a dream language, that it would need live movement, poetry and gamified experiences in combination.
The body has been one core theme of the work which I call the “Nullspace universe”. I knew when I first started this production that in the live show I needed live movers on stage to project the emotional aspect and for the game to focus on narrative grounding and interaction.
The message and story of the work, versus the type of medium it’s presented, are really important to me when making. The combination of art forms just made sense, and I think the way they reflect on each other helps deepen the subtext and the narrative.
Q: The show is described as an immersive experience where audience members take turns playing philosophical mini-videogames. How do you balance the interactive, game-based elements with the live performance to create a cohesive experience?
A: Nullspace Motel was designed to feel like a collage where the visuals and performers are happening at the same time, sometimes intersecting and sometimes the game and performers working on “different timelines” from one another.
The audience are given the weight to work out who plays next and to work out how to play the game. This creates an exciting tension.
Q: The show explores themes of identity, memory, power, and the queer gaze. Could you elaborate on how these themes are woven into the narrative and visual landscape of Nullspace Motel?
A: Sure! So there is a pretty full backstory to the show and I can share a bit of that here. Don’t worry, I’m definitely not saying anything that isn’t helpful, if anything this may deepen your experience if you attend the show…
Ish is a game character that I created who is a biodigital being. They exist in audio form and as a 3D game character throughout. They have lost parts of their memories. On an alternative timeline and dimension, Dusky and Hayden (the two performers) are lovers out on a road trip together, and while on their journey, these themes come up in their relationship.
There is a lot of poetic text and themes around gaze, identity, etc. that Ish reflects on to the audience – sometimes gently and poetic, sometimes almost invasive. Also both the game and the performance touch on these themes and express them in their own way.
So, there’s kind of two timelines happening at once using these themes in different ways. Dusky and Hayden have this internal world and Ish is pretty engaged to the audience, providing prompts for audiences to reflect.
Q: You also created the accompanying installation, Highway to Infinity. How does this installation act as a “philosophical and parallel story” to Nullspace Motel, and what do you hope audiences gain from experiencing both parts of the work?
A: Yes, I guess it’s worth saying both exist in the same place, in the “Nullspace universe”. In the story, Highway to Infinity is a long deserted highway that connects between the physical world and digital and along that highway exists a lonely road side motel, Nullspace Motel.
Highway to Infinity is actually a piece I started in 2023 with Sammy Metcalfe from sleepwalk collective. At the time called A Dream Within A Dream, it was a 45 minute solo installation – part game and AV experience where audiences would walk through an experience with a guided walking meditation, video game, and place of rest.
After the first R&D I decided to revamp it so it was a little more contained. But what felt important was to keep the solo experience and intimacy and design it for solo game play. This would ensure the intention of the experience wasn’t lost.
There were times I was recommended to make it more of a group experience, and I stayed really firm in my decision not to take it in that direction, at least not for this particular story. I have to say that I’m glad that I stayed with my gut because it has been right for the work.
In Highway to Infinity, there is a little more emphasis on the relationship with just Ish and the player. Some hints on who Dusky and Hayden are, a more focused experience to absorb the subtext. Oh, also this piece is quite sensorial, with binaural audio and a subwoofer inside the car seat for audiences to sit on.
I’ve had feedback from people who have experienced Highway to Infinity who have said they felt a kinship towards Ish, that they could see themselves falling in love with them, the enjoyment for all the sensorial elements in the installation and how it brought them back to their body, and how the whole experience was very dreamy.
Nullspace Motel will be shown at Cambridge Junction from 6-7 November. Book here.
Nullspace Motel is created by Symoné
Lead Collaborator and Sound Design by Sammy Metcalfe
Co Directed by Reed Rushes
Game Development by Florian Brückner
Lighting Design by Georgijs Gaisins
Costumes by Valentina Bache
Digial Dramaturg Pelle Ensemble
Various Art Assets by Roland Lauth
Produced by The Lasso Club
Performers: Li Xu and Yuma Sylla