Serena Korda :: Missing Time

The artist’s first performance in the United States

June 5, 6, & 7, 2018
4:00 – 7:00 pm

On the High Line between 25th & 27th Streets.

New York, NY (May 29, 2018) — High Line Art is pleased to present Missing Time, a new immersive sound performance by United Kingdom-based artist Serena Korda. Developed for the Falcone Flyover, between 25th and 27th Streets, this newly commissioned work will be performed on June 5, 6, and 7, 2018. Missing Time will be Korda’s first performance presented in the United States.

Serena Korda creates large-scale ensemble performances that frequently combine her ceramic sculptures and sonic investigations. Her sculptural assemblages often become instruments for people to play. There is a playful spiritualism in Korda’s performances, experiments, and gatherings, which treats everything that is unexplained—whether religious, extraterrestrial, or scientific—with the same generous wonder and sincerity.

Missing Time considers the history and mythology of the High Line as a “thin place”—a portal to other worlds—while exploring its transformation and invisible histories. The piece features the a cappella group Mouthful (Dave Camlin, Sharon Durant, Bex Mather, and Katherine Zeserson), who improvise across specific frequencies derived from the planets otherwise known as the “Music of the Spheres.” Simultaneously, the singers carry very low frequency receivers; these are devices designed by amateur radio astronomers hoping to listen to radio waves coming from the sun or outer planets. Visitors experience the singers’ voices and manipulated radio waves through stereo headphones that play a version of the sounds captured through a microphone located under the pathway and mixed by the artist. In Korda’s eyes, “the trains, the industry, and the wilderness that once overran the space are all ghosts, and it is this paranormal activity of the High Line that I wish to explore.”

“We are thrilled to present Serena Korda’s first performance in the United States on the High Line,” says High Line Art Associate Curator Melanie Kress. “Korda’s entire practice centers bringing people together to share in transformative experiences, making her work an ideal fit for this lush public space.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Serena Korda (b. 1979, London, United Kingdom) lives and works in London, United Kingdom. Recent solo projects and exhibitions have been presented at BALTIC Centre of Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom (2018), Glasgow International, Scotland (2016); and Camden Arts Centre, London, United Kingdom. Korda’s films and performances have been shown in various exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection, London, United Kingdom (2011); and Turner Contemporary, Margate, United Kingdom (2011). Her residencies include the Norma Lipman/BALTIC fellowship in Ceramic Sculpture at Newcastle University, United Kingdom (2017); The Museum of Jurassic Technology, Los Angeles, California (2014); and Camden Arts Centre, London, United Kingdom (2012).

New York, NY (May 29, 2018) — High Line Art is pleased to present Missing Time, a new immersive sound performance by United Kingdom-based artist Serena Korda. Developed for the Falcone Flyover, between 25th and 27th Streets, this newly commissioned work will be performed on June 5, 6, and 7, 2018. Missing Time will be Korda’s first performance presented in the United States.

Serena Korda creates large-scale ensemble performances that frequently combine her ceramic sculptures and sonic investigations. Her sculptural assemblages often become instruments for people to play. There is a playful spiritualism in Korda’s performances, experiments, and gatherings, which treats everything that is unexplained—whether religious, extraterrestrial, or scientific—with the same generous wonder and sincerity.

Missing Time considers the history and mythology of the High Line as a “thin place”—a portal to other worlds—while exploring its transformation and invisible histories. The piece features the a cappella group Mouthful (Dave Camlin, Sharon Durant, Bex Mather, and Katherine Zeserson), who improvise across specific frequencies derived from the planets otherwise known as the “Music of the Spheres.” Simultaneously, the singers carry very low frequency receivers; these are devices designed by amateur radio astronomers hoping to listen to radio waves coming from the sun or outer planets. Visitors experience the singers’ voices and manipulated radio waves through stereo headphones that play a version of the sounds captured through a microphone located under the pathway and mixed by the artist. In Korda’s eyes, “the trains, the industry, and the wilderness that once overran the space are all ghosts, and it is this paranormal activity of the High Line that I wish to explore.”

“We are thrilled to present Serena Korda’s first performance in the United States on the High Line,” says High Line Art Associate Curator Melanie Kress. “Korda’s entire practice centers bringing people together to share in transformative experiences, making her work an ideal fit for this lush public space.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Serena Korda (b. 1979, London, United Kingdom) lives and works in London, United Kingdom. Recent solo projects and exhibitions have been presented at BALTIC Centre of Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom (2018), Glasgow International, Scotland (2016); and Camden Arts Centre, London, United Kingdom. Korda’s films and performances have been shown in various exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection, London, United Kingdom (2011); and Turner Contemporary, Margate, United Kingdom (2011). Her residencies include the Norma Lipman/BALTIC fellowship in Ceramic Sculpture at Newcastle University, United Kingdom (2017); The Museum of Jurassic Technology, Los Angeles, California (2014); and Camden Arts Centre, London, United Kingdom (2012).

ABOUT HIGH LINE ART

Presented by Friends of the High Line, High Line Art commissions and produces public art projects on and around the High Line. Founded in 2009, High Line Art presents a wide array of artwork including site-specific commissions, exhibitions, performances, video programs, and a series of billboard interventions. Curated by Cecilia Alemani, the Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art, and produced by Friends of the High Line, High Line Art invites artists to think of creative ways to engage with the uniqueness of the architecture, history, and design of the High Line and to foster a productive dialogue with the surrounding neighborhood and urban landscape.

For further information on High Line Art, please visit art.thehighline.org

Lead support for High Line Art comes from Amanda and Don Mullen. Major support for High Line Art is provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston, and Charina Endowment Fund. High Line Art is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council, under the leadership of Speaker Corey Johnson.

ABOUT FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE

Friends of the High Line raises nearly 100% of the High Line’s annual budget. Owned by the City of New York, the High Line is a public park programmed, maintained, and operated by Friends of the High Line, in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.