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tidewater studies

2021
various locations on Governor's Island, New York, NY

presented as part of the Works on Water residency and triennial

  • climate research initiative

  • collaborative project

  • site-responsive performance

tidewater studies was a three-part performance that was built in relationship to the rising and falling of the day’s tides. Viewers moved through various spaces around Governors Island at specific times to engage with an audio piece, a performance, and video projection, each specifically designed to invite viewers into the tidal present while speculating about the changing shorelines of the future.

 

Many thanks to the Kennicott Glacier, Buttermilk Channel, and the Works on Water community for the opportunity to engage with water and with each other. Thank you also to Marion Spencer, Tatyana Tenenbaum, and Carolyn Hall. 
 

tidewater studies (audio) 

Approaching the Buttermilk Channel at low tide, audience members were invited to download the audio score and listen. The score wove together narrative histories of Governors Island and led listeners through somatic instructions to engage with the water. The narration was accompanied by field recordings from the Kennicott Glacier in McCarthy, Alaska, and ambient soundscapes.

concept, narration, arrangement, vocals: Tyler Rai

music composition, processing, keyboards & guitar: Benedict Kupstas

mixing, vocals: Ethan Wood

vocals: Tatyana Tenenbaum 

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tidewater studies (performance) 

Beneath one of the arches of the island’s old barrack buildings, viewers encountered a 20 minute solo performance. Informed by Rai’s somatic studies of the movement of the tides, the work engaged with the site’s architecture by leading audiences through spatial relation to the water and horizon, and the qualities of light and obscurance enacted through the use of six emergency blankets. Slow, emergent, and immersive, the piece traveled to and from the water in the distance, used movement informed by rising and falling, and fluid states of motion. The audience was invited to witness the performance in-the-round which led them through various thresholds of the architecture and ultimately to the water which was rising from low-tide.

 

choreography and solo performance: Tyler Rai

music: Matt Evans

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tidewater studies (film) 

8 mm film projection

8:22 minutes

What is impermanence? How do we understand the various migrations that will (and are) occurring due to rising floodwaters and changing tides? These questions were explored through a short 8mm film created in collaboration with artist Brighid Greene. Conceived as a temporary portrait of place, the imagery incorporates long shots of wild places on the island, the shoreline, as well as the coming and going of people, ferries, and insects. The film was projected onto a screen overlooking Buttermilk Channel where audience members sat outside together in the dark, the loading docks of Red Hook glowing in the distance.

concept, dance: Tyler Rai

music: “Arcto 2” by Matt Evans

film: Brighid Greene

works on water (residency) 

 

The Works on Water Studio Residency provides an incubator space for diverse investigations of water in the urban environment. Over the course of 3 months, I maintained a studio on Governors Island where I kept track of the changing tides, mapped high and low tide onto the walls of the studio each day, and engaged in movement studies inspired by the view of the water. These studies became incorporated into the final site-specific performance.

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