“Apollo 11 Dream” by Alain Thibault
Performance as part of “Endless Variations”

As part of the exhibition Endless Variations, the Canadian Cultural Centre invites you to discover Apollo 11 Dream (2023) by Alain Thibault: the first performance in a series entitled Five UltraModern Noh, in reference to Yukio Mishima’s Five Modern Noh.

Lineup of the performances:

• Friday, December 8 at 7pm – Booking (preceded by a guided tour at 6pm)
• Friday, December 8 at 8.30pm – Booking (preceded by a guided tour at 7.30pm)

In Five UltraModern Noh, Alain Thibault explores the concept of ultramodernity associated with the story of space exploration, comparing the characteristic slowness of Japanese Noh theatre to the movements of astronauts in space.
The first episode, Apollo 11 Dream, begins with the arrival on the Moon of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 Mission. Alain Thibault composed his work around the Quindar Tones: 250 millisecond beeps, with their distinct frequencies of 2525 Hz and 2475 Hz, announced and closed the communications of the command centre in Houston.
Using excerpts from the original transcripts of this first mission to the Moon, spoken by synthetic voices and manipulated in time, Alain Thibault creates a performance that is both narrative and abstract, tinged with the supernatural aura of Noh. The last quote suggests an alternative ending: did the astronauts actually return to earth or did they remain on the moon…?

Biography:
Alain Thibault’s music and audiovisual collaborations have been presented locally and internationally in many contexts, including contemporary music and digital art events in North America, Europe and Asia. As a curator and artistic director in the fields of contemporary digital art, electronic music and sound art, Alain Thibault is also the founder of two major events in Montreal: ELEKTRA, a festival dedicated since 1999 to digital art performances and BIAN, the International Digital Art Biennial, focused on exhibitions, installations and public art since 2012. 

Performances presented with Elektra (Montreal) for the exhibition “Endless Variations”, as part of Némo – Biennale internationale des arts numériques de la Région Île-de-France, produced by CENTQUATRE-PARIS from September 30, 2023 to January 7, 2024.