CREW (B)

CREW is a Brussels based company that operates on the border between art and science, between performance art and new technology. Artist Eric Joris develops his live projects in close collaboration with engineer Philippe Bekaert (EDM, Expertise Centre for Digital Media, University of Hasselt). Further members of CREW are Hilde Teuchies, Vicky Vermoezen and Vincent Jacobs. Electronic and digital media form the basis of a unique artistic way of thinking and the engine for aesthetic experiences and reflection.
This results in hybrid performances that question and undermine commonly accepted performative parameters.
Immersion is a recurrent element of CREW’s creations since 2003. The technology that lies at the basis of the immersive medium was developed by EDM, (Expertise centre for digital media) at the University of Hasselt. Omnidirectional video is a high-impact visual medium, of which the creative potential has only recently begun to be explored. The dramaturgical strategies from and for this technology as developed by CREW in its performances and installations lead to unprecedented levels of involvement and intimacy as well as thrilling novel ways of mixing and experiencing the real and the virtual in (performance) art.
CREW’s projects are hybrid and take on a variety of forms, from performances to one-to-one experiences and interactive installations. Important productions are “Icarus” (2001), “Philoctetes” (2002), “Crash” (04-05), “U_Raging Standstill” (2006), “O_Rex” (2007), “W Double U” (2008), “EUX” (2008), “Line-Up” (2009) and “en C.A.P.E.” (2010).
CREW, as a structurally subsidised performance company, has set up a parallel structure called CREW_lab that concentrates on both technological and academic research. CREW_lab’s research activities are not only valuable in their own right but also support and feed the artistic production via an intensive reciprocity. Crew_lab is a member of "2020 3D Media" since 2002, a European research consortium, supported by the EC.
www.crewonline.org