Audio Obscura presents the film during the Amsterdam Dance Event, with public screenings from October 22nd to 25th.
Photo credit: Audio Obscura – Official
Audio Obscura has announced a new film featuring Jeff Mills interpreting Rembrandt’s painting ‘De Nachtwacht’ through electronic music and performance. Created at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the project will premiere during the 30th edition of Amsterdam Dance Event.
An invitation-only premiere will take place on Wednesday, October 21st, in the museum’s Gallery of Honour. Public screenings will follow from October 22nd to 25th in the Rijksmuseum auditorium.
Conceived by Audio Obscura, the film invites Mills to respond artistically to one of Rembrandt’s best-known paintings rather than use the artwork as a backdrop for a conventional DJ performance.
The Detroit techno pioneer developed an imagined narrative surrounding the arrival of Marie de’ Medici. Her historical role as a patron of the arts became a starting point for the composition and choreography, although the resulting narrative is not intended as a historical interpretation of the painting.
The film unfolds in three sections. Mills begins with a performance behind the decks before dancer Sophie Boursier appears in front of the painting, embodying a figure from his imagined narrative. The musician then returns for a live performance, with the film ultimately returning its focus to Rembrandt’s original work.
Directed by Hans Pannecoucke, the production moves between the painting, the surrounding gallery, and the performers, connecting electronic music, movement, and visual art.
Reflecting on the experience, Mills said: “It was a great pleasure to create, explore, and perform in the presence of Rembrandt’s The Night Watch. The painting is an incredible source of inspiration and invites you to look, think and imagine in a different way.”
Jeroen Fontein, co-founder and managing director of Audio Obscura, explained the intention behind the collaboration: “We didn’t ask Jeff Mills to play a DJ set with De Nachtwacht as a backdrop. We asked him to study the painting and respond to it as an artist. He built an entire world around it, from the music and dance to the way viewers approach the work.”
The project continues Audio Obscura’s work connecting electronic music with significant architectural and cultural locations. Previous productions have included events at the IJpassage in Amsterdam Central Station and the Highway Rave on Amsterdam’s A10 motorway.
More information is available here.
