MACHAS

Dimensional Sampling goes VR: Cao Yuxi’s virtual audiovisual live performance for Nxt x ADE

As physical gatherings and international travels have become impossible amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, Cao Yuxi turned his ‘Dimensional Sampling’ piece - created in collaboration with Lawerence Lau - into a VR show performed live in front of an online, global audience.

In occasion of Amsterdam’s Nxt Museum opening and ADE music festival,  the two artists virtually reunited on-stage through their digital avatars to perform the 40-minute long piece entitled “Dimensional Sampling #1-4. HYPERSPACE: Planet-α”, with Cao Yuxi controlling the hypnotic, pulsating visuals from his studio in New-York, and Lawrence Lau orchestrating the music and sounds from Hong Kong.

“This was the first show we performed together at literally opposite sides of the earth, Hong Kong and NYC” explains Cao. “We have been separated since the very beginning of 2020, but we have never stopped thinking of ways to continue to create and extend the possibilities of our artwork, even during this extremely different time.”

The VR performance is yet another instalment of ‘Dimensional Sampling’, now on display at Nxt Museum as part of the exhibition ‘Shifting Proximities’. Cao experimented with new technologies to take his artwork to a new visual dimension: “The performance was made possible by using Touchdesigner. Streaming softwares OBS and Yellowduck were used to stream on YouTube and Instagram live.”

“It was a wonderful afternoon for me, dawn for Lawrence Lau, and night for the audience of Nxt Museum and ADE” says Cao before announcing more content to come: “This is just the beginning of our virtual performances! More crazy things are cooking!” 

See more of Cao’s work here.