Dystopia Trilogy is a WebVR composition consisting of three movements inspired by the author’s experiences during the seven months of social restriction in 2020. These memories are interpreted and developed as narrative ideas and divided into three major pandemic episodes—infectious period, lockdown, and new-normal.
Three virtual environments were created to simulate the actual events to manifest the narrative notions, in which sound recordings and 3D scanning assets made during and after the lockdown are utilized to construct the virtual space that functions as memory lines connecting between the past and the present over the digital domain. The symbolism approach is adopted to contextualize the usage of visual elements in conjunction with the narrative idea.
The first movement displays human figure videos and animated COVID-19 models, whereas, on the second movement, the 3D model of human bodies (legs and hand) is placed within a square format to restrict the user’s locomotion. At the environment’s center rests a human heart model that is randomly beating and rotating infinitely, which symbolizes the desperateness feeling. The third movement is structured upon the distorted objects of 3D scanning surrounding Melbourne after the lockdown. These decimated 3D objects portray the lifeways changes of new normal where conjointly with video footages offers a twofold visual presentation.
A specific compositional strategy that utilized Hubs’ spatial sound feature was applied within this piece. Instead of fixed-structured music, pre-composed materials are placed within particular premises with specified distance values, meaning each sound is only hearable at a given range according to the user’s location within the virtual environment. Therefore, the musical structure and experience become subjective matters for each user based on their interaction (spatial location) when exploring the digital space.
Born in Makassar 1988, Patrick Gunawan Hartono is an Indonesian electroacoustic composer and intermedia artist. He earned a BMus in Composition (Cum laude) from Rotterdam Conservatory with Minor Study at The Institute of Sonology, MMus in Sonic Arts from the University of London, Goldsmiths, and Live Electronic Course from IRCAM, Paris. In 2017 he won the ICMA audience award for his generative audiovisual piece “Matrix Studies” and the 1st Prize for WOCMAT 2019 International Electroacoustic Music Young Composer Award.
Patrick’s art and musical interest are to use technology and scientific approaches as creative tools. He is also interested in 3-D sound spatialisation, analog/digital synthesis, psychoacoustic, visual music. Most of his works use the sound of Indonesian traditional music instrument, computer generated sound/images, field recordings; transformed, rearranged, modulated by mathematical rules, real-time interaction, and controlled random operations.
His music has been internationally performed at the festival, conference, and venue such as ICMC [2014, 2016, 2017, 2021], YCMF [2007, 2008, 2010], WOCMAT [2012, 2013, 2019], Sound Bridge Festival [2013, 2020], ZKM [2014, 2015, 2019], IRCAM [2014], NYCEMF [2014], Sines and Square [2014], ACL [2014], Sonorities Festival [2015], ACMC [2020, 2021], BEAST [2021], CCRMA [2018] etc.
Patrick is currently based in Melbourne, Australia, to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Melbourne while actively involved in local and international electroacoustic/computer music communities.