Hallidonto

Hallidonto’s work relates to his “Cyborg Manifesto” his main focus is drawing; The essence of the cyborg became my own. The cyborg image has been an integral part of my childhood. The cold war had just ended – the cultural landscape of the '80s was very much rooted in the future; the natural feeling of that time was dystopia from the cartoons/films I watched as a kid, the advent of console gaming: Nintendo, etc. The image of man was always his metamorphism into the machine or the machines taking over. I identified with the cyborg image, and I wanted to be one. I identified with the concept of such a being, and it has informed my work to date. They are infantile and simplistic in their appearance but not in their construction, being drawn in one continuous line. The continuous line has such intrigue that the build-up of lines mirrors the essence of double helix structures akin to DNA that create these lifeforms.

This project aims to promote and explore the convergence of 21st-century technology in the form of immersive VR with a more traditional approach to art practice – to embody notions of the classical with contemporary immersive and interactive technology.

My technique of drawing is a continuous line; with fluid and eloquent gestures, I create these Cyborg organisms; my VR work has a similar application of Calligraphy, powerful strokes that embody a bold and powerful decisive line, the simplicity of the composition evokes an ethereal space, the bar and negative shapes complement each other akin to the principles of Zen, I am interested in the Shodo style of performance Calligraphy painting, the performative aspect parallels my technique when using virtual reality to perform this piece, the performance itself becomes a visceral act the ability to use my whole body becomes cyborgian itself utilising this equipment. I’m the creator; I’m creating a life form. I think the ability for me to bring a tangibility to these drawings it’s not losing the essence of Hallidonto, the artist; it’s, by virtue, bringing my whole heart into that piece.”

Through the residency, I would like to perform the “Birth of the Cyborg” within the gallery space and collaborate with musician Ed Woolroofle through experimental sound and VR drawing.

There’s always this uniqueness to the piece because I know I’m going to draw a figure, but I don’t see how it’s going to come out,” “It’s real-time and making decisions in real-time, so that’s a unique thing for me because it’s always a challenge. 

Virtual Reality combined with 3D printing technology creates exciting pathways from traditional processes – Standard 2-dimensional drawing practices have limitations, and I argue that visual construction is often confined to the flat space (paper, wall). By releasing the lines and mark making from a 2-dimensional plane- virtual reality opens the opportunity to use my continuous line style in real-time, thus giving the drawings a tangible reality and revealing the artist’s performative approach to creating work. This is shown through my ability to construct these works in digital virtual space, which can be transformed into 3-dimensional sculptural pieces using traditional 3D printing techniques; the results call can also be viewed within the digital area via a VR headset.