Disarm

Pedro Reyes

Disarm is a set of musical instruments fabricated from destroyed weapons – revolvers, shot-guns, machine-guns, etc. The transformation of these weapons is more than physical; it’s important to consider many lives were taken with them. When they are played it’s as if a sort of exorcism takes place – the music expelling the demons they hold, as well as being a requiem for lives lost.

A selection of these instruments will travel to Atlanta for Flux Night 2015: Dream where they will be played by Bent Frequency, a performance ensemble in residence at Georgia State University.

About the Artist

Pedro Reyes was born in Mexico City in 1972, where he lives and works. He studied architecture at the Ibero-American University in Mexico City. Reyes has won international attention for large-scale projects that take existing social problems and imagine solutions for a happier world. His political stance, use of found materials and disavowal of the corporate mentality sets him in the wake of Arte Povera, most keenly so in his tackling of gun culture in Mexico.

Solo exhibitions include Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2014), ICA, Miami (2014), The Power Plant, Toronto (2014), Whitechapel Gallery, London (2013), Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2011), Guggenheim Museum, New York (2011), CCA Kitakyushu, Japan (2009), Bass Museum, Miami (2008) and San Francisco Art Institute (2008). Group exhibitions include Beijing Biennale, Beijing (2014), documenta 13, Kassel, Germany (2013), Liverpool Biennial, UK (2012), Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2012), Lyon Biennale, France (2009) and the 50th Venice Biennale (2003).

Bent Frequency
Hailed as “one of the brightest new music ensembles on the scene today” by Gramophone magazine, Bent Frequency (BF) is a performance ensemble possessing a vision to redefine the traditional music experience – ushering it from the strict formality of the concert hall into the fresh air of contemporary artistic expression and experimentation. Founded in 2003, the group brings the avant-garde music tradition to life through adventurous programming, the promotion of New Music, and a creative synthesis of music and media. At the heart of the ensemble is the unparalleled musicianship of the Bent Frequency performers, an eclectic mix of the most adventurous and impassioned players from the greater Atlanta area. This includes musicians from the Atlanta Symphony, Opera and Ballet as well as Atlanta’s fertile independent music community. As an ensemble-in-residence at Georgia State University, BF has become the most active and visible contemporary music ensemble in the Southeast.

More about Bent Frequency:  www.bentfrequency.com