Executable Transmutable Language (xtl)
- Sarah Kim, Noah Jacobson-Carroll, and Kat Nzingha
- Institute of Contemporary Art
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Independent Creative Production Grant
Executable Transmutable Language (xtl) emerged from the innumerable potential embedded in the transmutational organism. Alluding to the experience of trans- and transitioning bodies, xtl constitutes an experimental lexicon/corpus of electronic sound and material symbols culminating in an immersive multimedia installation.
Transmutation has been used historically to describe a variety of alchemical processes, from the physiological progression from illness to health to the elevation of terrestrial to supernatural. Our conception of transmutation expands on alchemy’s definition and focuses on the constant oscillation of the trans/mutant body. The changing body allows access to different perceptions of reality and, therefore, futurities.
xtl demonstrates examples of those transmutational realities through experimental electronic sounds and material elements. We aim to create a reality that communicates mutation using a combination of three artistic mediums: sculptural art (object), sound design (noise), and video projection (liminal/abstract space).