Opening Date
‍Thu, Sep 11, 2014 8pm

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A sculptural video installation by Dinka Pignon
Sound design and composition: Emma Hendrix
With the participation of Sharon Bradley (acting) and Heather McDermid (violin & saw)

Does an emotional response to the replicant (or humanoid robot) shift from endearment to revulsion as our likenesses become indistinguishable? The Orchestra of the Uncanny Valley explores this question while enacting a rhetorical hypothesis across the fields of 3D animation, robotics, human aesthetics and modern epic theatre.

An assembly of mannequins recites lines from canonical art manifestos (their outfits consisting of projected abstractions, well-known artworks and words) as a violin orchestra plays in and out of tune. Unpredictable calls and responses are generated.

Perceptual conflict and cognitive dissonance direct experiential engagements with the work. Investigating issues of habitual thinking and categorical perception of art, Pignon’s installation reflects on “art as social phenomenon” while provoking reconsiderations of the recognizable and familiar.