A Discard Study

An audiovisual exploration
of waste

Born out of a collaboration between electronic musical duo Mue and visual artist Katherine Melançon, A Discard Study is a 45-min audiovisual performance, a study contemplating waste.

The waste produced by people interacting through food, being both intimate and anonymous, is the central theme of the performance. More precisely, the artists are interested in exploring the afterlife of what is commonly considered waste, how it bears witness to human relations, how leftovers, like these social interactions, can become generative sources of abundance.

My role: Technical design and production of visual performance components (hardware + software)

Credits
Concept & Art Direction: Mue (Catherine Debard, Léon Lo), Katherine Melançon
Music Composition & Performance: Mue (Catherine Debard, Léon Lo), food scraps
Image Creation & Performance: Katherine Melançon, food scraps

For most of the performance, the video feeds from the scanner and of the food scrap receptacle are overlaid on the live-processed images in the form of two embedded windows, cueing the audience in on the process.

During the 45-minute performance, Mue and Melançon prepare, eat and share the food to create live sounds and visuals.

Sensors are used to measure the pH of the food scraps, its data controlling the image choices of the projection.

The food waste thus assumes the active role of live VJ.