Presented by The Audio Foundation and CIRCUIT Artist Film and Video Aotearoa New Zealand, Whakapapa/Algorithms is a collection of multi-media work by Jamie Berry, reflecting the artist's past, present and future through her DNA and whakapapa connecting the spiritual and physical realms, ancestors and descendants, and the natural world.
Taking original video footage of whanau and whenua, Jamie overlays motifs of pattern, and via computer algorithims and her own editing techniques, creates an expansive new video work evoking the interweaving of past and present. Jamie uses the technology of sequencing her DNA chromosome to produce unique soundscapes to awaken memories of sound. The sound of ancestors being present gives a direct connection to Jamie’s whakapapa. The visual content is then driven and guided by the narrative of the soundscape. The process of layering one thing upon another, an acknowledgement of Jamie’s tipuna, Papatuanuku, the present moment and utilising the time to ground healthy seeds for our future.
The project was initially developed as commission from CIRCUIT in 2020, as part of The Sound of Seeing: a series of screenings and live events exploring the synergy of sound and image in the history of Aotearoa artists film and video, and presented at the Pyramid Club in Wellington as a live event, with the support of Wellington City Council.
Within the immersive audio and moving images of Whakapapa/Algorithms, ocean waves are heard before any images are seen, referring to the way in which sound vibration travels over time, over oceans, changes perceptions and gives homage to our ancestors that travelled to Aotearoa.
Opens: Friday 19 March, 5.30 PM
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 12-4 PM
Closes: Saturday 10 April
