Project List for The Music Gallery
Mal'akh (Angel/Messenger): Project Concept
Mal'akh (Angel/Messenger): Project Concept
First and foremost, this project is inspired by the strong female presence in my life. I don’t think men and women are equals. I believe women are the superior creatures that weild the powers of love, empathy, maternal energy and most imporantly, the ability to create other lifeforces.
I was lucky to be surrounded by powerful women in my life who have always shown me support and love.
One of the most significant experiences in my life was sharing my mother’s experience of battling (and losing) her fight with ovarian cancer. One of the most impactful things she has shared with me and continues to resonate with me daily: “the most heartbreaking aspect of this experience is that the one part of my body that gave me the most joy in life (ovaries:/uterus-being a mother) is what’s going to kill me”.
She also shared with me the devastation she experienced miscarrying 3 pregnancies between me and my brother. A younger cousin of mine recently had complications after carrying her child to term and subsequently, her child did not have a heartbeat at birth. I cannot being to imagine the devastation of that experience.
I have been collecting uteral ultrasound images from the various women in my family to incorporate in this project.
Growing up Catholic, my mother, grandmothers and several other women in my family believed in the power of angels. My main project concept is to create an interactive instalattion consisting of an angel(s) (life-sized) made of wire, glass beads/crystals, aluminum. The wings will incorporate the collected ultrasounds printed on clear acetate. The instalation will include interactive lighting design, animatronics and original musical pieces I’ve composed. I composed a soundscaped specifically for this project and it’s my interpretation of what I envision what it might sound like for a child in the womb. Additionally, I’ve always been a fan of the Marvel comic X-Men, which explores the ideas of humans each possessing unique superhuman powers
Ultimately the project will evolve as it progresses keeping the theme of maternal power and ultimately serve as my tribute to the women in my life
Through my various roles as a music instructor, media lab mentor and class assitant on varying subjects, I developed a collaborative relationship with Naomi and she introduced me to her Poetry In Motion esthetic. Her lush written compositions became the primary influence for this project which explores themes of the complexities of mental heal and paths to healing via dance, music and writing. This musical short film was selected to be a part of Workman Arts' Rendezvous With Madness film festival, for which we are both proud of!
Costumes: Naomi Hendrickje Laufer
Music, Video Production, Costumes, Styling: Don Vaillancourt
In January 2019, I was hired by The 519 to be a part of an amazing team put together to collect information regarding the gruelling and growing crystal meth epidemic. Some of the main project goals were to interview 100 individuals in Toronto's Church and Wellesley area (an LGBTQ2S+-centric neighborhood) and find out what social/economical supports are missing in the face of crystal meth use/abuse. We held focus groups, various workshops including a zine workshops where Individuals were encouraged to write "Dear Crystal Meth" letters. Some filled out templates we provided, some created artwork, spoken word, poetry etc. Jonathan Valelly creatively seamed all these wonderful letters together, creating a physical full color zine which we distributed at our project launch. My role was to create and audio-visual component which would encapsulate every contribution shared with us.
Music: The Fantasy Clinic (Don Vaillancourt, vocals Brianna Lozano, Willam Weiss-original production)
In early 2025, I was asked by Spanish fashion designer Hegoi if I was interested in creating the sound design for his first collection. He sent me his fashion illustrations and immediately said yes. I created AI videos of his illustrations to serve as a guideline on how the models and garments would move which would set the skeleton for the sound production. I used vocals by my late best friend Brianna Lozano from a song she recorded awhile back called Father so this project is meaningful on a variety of levels.
In this video I used various video perspectives of the final runway show and I also included the AI-generated videos I created of the illustrations to showcase the full process of this project.
WEIGHT(LESS) is a creative conjuring that examines the perception of communal trauma. Weighted wearable art pieces represent invisible intergenerational sufferings related to Blackness, Indigenous-ness and the Femme identity. Commune with Amplify Collective and the energies of our ancestors as they generate space for release.
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