Celebrating the launch of Attensity!, the Strother School of Radical Attention (SoRA) holds a series of four participatory events where we will collectively create and test-drive vessels for human attention. Over the course of four weeks, four hosts will activate the Sanctuary Gallery in DUMBO with sound, film, objects and movement, and lecture performance.
Artist duo John Tsung and Leah Ogawa invite us to an evening of slow attention in their interactive installation and performance. Countless strands of white fabric suspended across the space slowly awaken hands, legs, flowers, and other recognizable silhouettes with Leah Ogawa’s puppetry—and steadily dissipate back into a sea of formlessness. John Tsung converses with these movements through music, and will invite attendees to partake in the ensemble through a sound interface that responds to vibrations in the environment.
Image: Leah Ogawa and John Tsung, Divine Generations vol.02, 2023, courtesy of the artists and photographed by Chika Kobari
About the artists
John Tsung (New York, NY) is an interdisciplinary artist, composer, and writer whose works explore migration and myth, particularly the concepts of transmigration and impermanence. Drawing on social practice and sound art, his works often involve emergent sounds and the creation of site-specific performance pieces, influenced by his Buddhist upbringing and classical training. Tsung’s installations and works have been performed in the US and Asia and featured in publications such as BOMB Magazine, Interview, and The New York Times.
Leah Ogawa is an installation artist and puppeteer based in New York City. Raised in Yamanashi, Japan, Leah has worked with puppeteers, artists, and companies including The Metropolitan Opera, La MaMa, Dmitry Krymov, Phantom Limb, Dan Hurlin, Tom Lee, Nami Yamamoto, Loco 7, and others. She has performed across the US as well as at the Quay Branly in Paris and across Asia. Leah is a recipient of the Jim Henson Foundation’s workshop grant for her original piece, Growing Not Dying. Her recent work, Divine Generations with co-creator John Tsung, has been featured in the New York Times.