Opening Reception: Wednesday, May 21, 6 – 8 pm
In the Project Room through Saturday May 31st

We are pleased to present new work by Luis Nobre (Portugal) and by Eric Siu (Hong Kong), who have participated in Location One’s International Residency Program this year.

Eric Siu
Optical Handlers – eeyee, 2008

Optical Handlers – eeyee is a new interactive media project that consists of an optical goggle device constructed by the artist, which splits the vision into four channels. On May 11th the artist walked with the goggles from Location One to Union Square via Broadway by foot and subway, doing various mundane activities such as stopping into shops and having coffee. He was accompanied by a friend who was responsible for his safety and introduced him to people who want to interact with him.

The exhibition consists of a video of the street performance, a video of Eric’s vision through the goggles (namely four POV’s), a full goggle set up for use by one visitor at a time, and four little screens that allow the rest of the public to view what that person is experiencing. On display are also the Alien “eeyee” suit that Eric was wearing, as well as the Master suit worn by the friend. Both suits are meant to allow the public to “see through” him.

The artist will be available to demonstrate the workings of eeyee from 4 to 6pm when the exhibition is open.

Eric received a diploma in digital media studies at IVE in 2001 followed by a B.A. at the School of Creative Media of the City University of Hong Kong in 2005. In 2005, he made his first trip abroad when he received an honorable mention at the Media Art Biennial in Poland for his eight-minute work Sliding Whites, becoming the first Hong Kong artist to win recognition at this prestigious event.

Eric’s residency at Location One is supported by the Asian Cultural Council.

Online: www.ericsiuart.com

Luis Nobre
Hold It! 2008

Hold It! is an installation that creates a fantastical, sometimes hallucinatory vision of nature, the city and the artist’s studio. Visual play is generated by overlapping layers of drawings, ephemeral sculptures made of paper and cardboard, light wire objects, all constructed by Nobre in-situ. For the first time the artist also incorporates video into his work, with footage taken on the Williamsburg bridge, in Greenpoint, and in his native Portugal.

The coming together of all these elements whose scale, medium and density are so disparate, creates a vibration, a tension of line and meaning that feed the artist’s ongoing exploration of nature, survival and the “implications of the empty space” between the originally observed subject and its displayed rendition.
Luis Nobre graduated in 2001 from the Escola Superior de Arte e Design, Caldas da Rainha, Lisbon. Exhibitions include the 5th International Biennial of Sculpture and Drawing, Caldas da Rainha; Sub.864-873, Museu Malhoa, Caldas da Rainha; Between Heaven and Hell, Museum of Natural History, Lisbon; Year of the Dog, Ale and Porter Arts, Bradford, UK; Ohhh Naturel! Madame Lillies, London.

Online: www.luisnobre.net

Luis Nobre’s residency at Location One is supported by dgArtes, Ministerio da Cultura, Lisbon, Fundação Ilidio Pinho, & Instituto Camões