The Incredible Trip to the Holy Mountain

FREE event. Please RSVP to Nikki Tomlinson.
An informal and celebratory evening of film, and discussion.
Steven Ounanian will be screening material from a recent trip to the 'Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain' in Greece, taking a sideways look at dogmas, proselytising, and failed spiritual experiences. The screening will be followed by a conversation between the artist and Cecilia Wee, known for her work as curator, writer and broadcaster.
This November, Steven will be heading to his father’s home country of Armenia for the first time, to further research the related project, Mountainous, which looks at how notions of identity might change in the future – both within the geographic region of Armenia and among diasporic communities around the world.
This event is part of the first phase of a year-long multi-faceted project supported by an Artsadmin Artists’ Bursary and its timing has been accelerated by current visa regulations, which directly affect Steven’s freedom to move in and out of the UK.
Steven Ounanian
I explore contracts between peoples, and enjoy collaborating, especially with unwitting participants. Through such collaborative experiments, I generate videos, performances, objects, and situations that try to unravel what it means for people to be human, together. Technology (from crude phones to synthetic biology) has challenged what it means to be human on a fundamental level. Somehow there is an element of ventriloquism or puppetry that occurs as we associate with this technology. I enjoy exaggerating this phenomenon, giving our external techno-social identities agency and voice, watching what happens when they get out of control. http:http://www.stevenlevon.com
Steven Ounanian is supported by an Artsadmin Artist’s Bursary.
Artsadmin’s Bursary Scheme 2010 is supported by Artsadmin, Arts Council England, Centre for Excellence in Training for Theatre at Central School of Speech and Drama and by generous donors to Small Change.