Alluvium
Alluvium, a collaborative project of Nika Kaiser & Nathan Stickel, uses composed & improvised video projection, field recordings & sound to create performative installations that respond to site-specific details within the natural world’s fluctuating conditions.
The geologic phenomenon of alluvium occurs when loose clay, silt, or sand has been deposited by running water in a stream bed or floodplain for an impermanent period of time, making unique radial shapes. Inspired by this phenomenon, Kaiser & Stickel's responsive compositions develop cumulatively, collecting & compiling sound & imagery that reflect the tenuous, shifting environmental conditions of sites in flux. Alluvium has performed throughout the Southwest, most recently at Collective Misnomer in Denver, CO.
Alluvium begins with a shared interest in spaces undergoing rapid transformations, often due to the changing climate. We then embark on a process of study, recording, & response; Nika works with video & still image, while Nathan captures & responds by developing music & soundscapes. Our individual reflections are woven together through responsive composing & shared field recordings. Collaging imagery using modular video tools, Nika manipulates visuals with which Nathan’s live music and field recordings intertwine.
Each composition offers a space in which the viewer is immersed in an experience of the fleeting, overlooked rhythms of a singular place in the natural world. We aspire to revere the impermanent. In Drift, we use elements of the Arizona monsoon season to convey the feeling of a desert shifting into verdancy, underlied by the disquieting qualities of its increasingly erratic & violent dynamics as the weather evolves in this era.