A hand-made book project focused on water and flora of Bali
Judy Major-Girardin
Judy Major-Girardin received a BFA from the University of Windsor and an MFA from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She is a recently retired Professor from the School of the Arts at McMaster University where she taught for 39 years. She lives in Cambridge Ontario and has served as Co-Chair of the Cambridge Sculpture Garden since 2005. Her studio work includes an integrated practise of painting, printmaking, drawing, artist books, and fiber-based works that raise awareness for the preservation and celebration of wetland environments. She has exhibited throughout Canada and the USA and internationally through exhibitions in New Zealand, Portugal, and Taiwan. She has attended artist residencies in British Columbia, Newfoundland, Quebec, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Portugal, New Zealand, and most recently in France.
www.judymajorgirardin.com
Duration in Bali: June 28 – July11
I plan to make a hand-made book focused on ideas and challenges related to water. I would like to generate a second book focused on plants with medical or food applications if time allows. I will be bringing a small underwater camera, a field guide to flora of Bali and some art supplies.
Michael Ang (aka Mang) is an artist, professor, and engineer who creates light objects, interactive installations, and technological tools that expand the possibilities of human expression and connection. Applying a hacker’s aesthetic, he often repurposes existing technology to create human-centered experiences in public space and the open field.
As a Node Leader at Dinacon 2025 I’ll be hosting a workshop on combining environmental data sonification with live musical performance. Come along and jam with the environment and each other!
Dates: June 26-July 5
Gear: environmental sensors, field recorder + microphones, music jamming gear
At Dinacon 2025: I would like to explore some spontaneous performance possibilities combined with making functional objects from natural and unnatural objects (trash!) from around Sea Communities. I plan on hosting a lighting and lamp-making workshop, creating functional sculptures from scrap materials and trash from our surroundings. As well, we’ll be doing a shadow performance using our bespoke lighting and improvisational dancing and music-making.
I’m also currently exploring making natural building materials from shredded plastic, pulverized glass, and water glass and hope to bring in some of my recent learnings about this process into Dinacon.
Bio: Heyoo! I’m William Kennedy, an artist, electrical engineer, musician, bicycler, and lighting designer who loves making lamps, music, and community. I like exploring on the idea of ‘play’ and the spontaneous nature of creation. I like doing this by creating spaces for people to be comfortable experimenting, improvising, and trying new things without fear of judgement.
My experience includes designing and building stage installations for major touring musicians, creating interactive public art pieces for municipalities and public art festivals, designing and fabricating hundreds of light fixtures, and touring the world playing synthesizers in bands. I am currently based in Los Angeles, CA, but hail from Atlanta, GA
We (Sumugan, Luci and Dinoj) plan to collect ocean plastic and make recordings to build a common sample bank (shared online) using free, open source tools. We will experiment with sonification of ocean data and assemble musical instruments from scavenged plastic: potentially work with Andy’s plastic processing method for 3D printing. We were involved in the Thaalam Riddim Reapers music production workshop at Dinacon 2022, Batticaloa. In March 2024 we developed this project into a ten day “bootcamp”, Dham Dham Riddim, at DreamSpace Academy’s Music Lab and released an album of the participants’ results on Bandcamp in August 2024.
Bio Dinoj M is an artist and music producer who blends music with nature while celebrating the culture of his hometown, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. He runs DreamSpace Records, a creative hub where local artists can record and produce their tracks. When he’s not making music, he’s upcycling old stuff into musical instruments because sustainability is his jam. His songs reflect the rich traditions and stories of Batticaloa, while also highlighting why we need to protect the planet. Dinoj is all about empowering artists and creating music that’s meaningful, fresh, and rooted in heritage.
Bio Lucinda Dayhew investigates relationships between social, ecological, historical, and psychological phenomena with a percussive bent. She sculpts words and moulds sounds and materials into pulsing narratives and rhythmic objects, which shift shape as they grapple with the conflicting ethics of daily life and global spin. Her works materialise as installations, performances, texts, films, photographs, sound works, and sculptures that are shown locally and internationally. Collaboration is the key to her beating heart.
Bio Sumugan Sivanesan is an artist, researcher and writer whose interests include music, minority politics, activist media, artist infrastructures and more-than-human rights. His artistic research project fugitive radio (2020-ongoing) develops live collectively-realised modes of “performance-radio” alongside a monthly podcast, music, zines and texts.
We (Dinoj, Luci, and Sumugan) plan to collect ocean plastic and make recordings to build a common sample bank (shared online) using free, open source tools. We will experiment with sonification of ocean data and assemble musical instruments from scavenged plastic: potentially work with Andy’s plastic processing method for 3D printing. We were involved in the Thaalam Riddim Reapers music production workshop at Dinacon 2022, Batticaloa. In March 2024 we developed this project into a ten day “bootcamp”, Dham Dham Riddim, at DreamSpace Academy’s Music Lab and released an album of the participants’ results on Bandcamp in August 2024.
Bio Sumugan Sivanesan is an artist, researcher and writer whose interests include music, minority politics, activist media, artist infrastructures and more-than-human rights. His artistic research project fugitive radio (2020-ongoing) develops live collectively-realised modes of “performance-radio” alongside a monthly podcast, music, zines and texts.
Bio Dinoj M is an artist and music producer who blends music with nature while celebrating the culture of his hometown, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. He runs DreamSpace Records, a creative hub where local artists can record and produce their tracks. When he’s not making music, he’s upcycling old stuff into musical instruments because sustainability is his jam. His songs reflect the rich traditions and stories of Batticaloa, while also highlighting why we need to protect the planet. Dinoj is all about empowering artists and creating music that’s meaningful, fresh, and rooted in heritage.
Bio Lucinda Dayhew investigates relationships between social, ecological, historical, and psychological phenomena with a percussive bent. She sculpts words and moulds sounds and materials into pulsing narratives and rhythmic objects, which shift shape as they grapple with the conflicting ethics of daily life and global spin. Her works materialise as installations, performances, texts, films, photographs, sound works, and sculptures that are shown locally and internationally. Collaboration is the key to her beating heart.
We (Dinoj, Luci, and Sumugan) plan to collect ocean plastic and make recordings to build a common sample bank (shared online) using free, open source tools. We will experiment with sonification of ocean data and assemble musical instruments from scavenged plastic: potentially work with Andy’s plastic processing method for 3D printing. We were involved in the Thaalam Riddim Reapers music production workshop at Dinacon 2022, Batticaloa. In March 2024 we developed this project into a ten day “bootcamp”, Dham Dham Riddim, at DreamSpace Academy’s Music Lab and released an album of the participants’ results on Bandcamp in August 2024.
Bio Lucinda Dayhew investigates relationships between social, ecological, historical, and psychological phenomena with a percussive bent. She sculpts words and moulds sounds and materials into pulsing narratives and rhythmic objects, which shift shape as they grapple with the conflicting ethics of daily life and global spin. Her works materialise as installations, performances, texts, films, photographs, sound works, and sculptures that are shown locally and internationally. Collaboration is the key to her beating heart.
Bio Sumugan Sivanesan is an artist, researcher and writer whose interests include music, minority politics, activist media, artist infrastructures and more-than-human rights. His artistic research project fugitive radio (2020-ongoing) develops live collectively-realised modes of “performance-radio” alongside a monthly podcast, music, zines and texts.
Bio Dinoj M is an artist and music producer who blends music with nature while celebrating the culture of his hometown, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. He runs DreamSpace Records, a creative hub where local artists can record and produce their tracks. When he’s not making music, he’s upcycling old stuff into musical instruments because sustainability is his jam. His songs reflect the rich traditions and stories of Batticaloa, while also highlighting why we need to protect the planet. Dinoj is all about empowering artists and creating music that’s meaningful, fresh, and rooted in heritage.
BioPlastics and Kombucha SCOBY Leather – experiments in kitchen science.
Fermentation brings people together on a microbial level. Using pro-biotic projects to talk methods, flavour, art, and tech all at once in a hands-on and constructive manner lends itself to a shared understanding of the science and indigenous knowledge of the microbiome through storytelling.
I’ll be working with the DreamSpace team and folks from Sri Lanka to learn about their famed Ceylon Tea and the culture that surrounds it. With hands-on workshops on making Kombucha Starter, SCOBY, and vegan leather I hope to initiate an exchange of stories, recipes, practical ideas, and creative expression. This, together with cooking up bioplastics from rice-starch to address the constantly growing challenge of single-use plastics I hope to use kitchen science and informal education to link awareness, outreach, and solution prototyping through hands-on activity.
With the current economic crisis and a need for revenue from Tourism, I feel an influx of creative and collaborative international travelers offers a sign of positive support. With the Intention of building resilient systems, and helping to build resilience into systems I trust the open-sourced maker / hacker / DIY approach will inspire innovative progress through a “perfect storm” of challenges.
Mr & Mrs Mayor of Batticaloa visit the BioLabCris making Kombucha from the famed Sri Lankan Ceylon TeaDreamspace BioLab experiments with mycelium bricks and sustainable packaging from wasteMushrooms grown on liquid medium to form sheets – Cris and PramoShowcasing collaborative effortsArtists jump in and make the work make senseintentional unintentional textures from the cooking processLocally sourced cooking ingredients for bioplasticCooking up the bioplastic with food colouringcollaborative process formulating recipes to suit ingredients on handBioLab Reishi grown on liquid medium – Cris and PramoBioPlastics workshop with scoby leather and BioLab grown mycelium leather / bricks
Other projects: conversations with Dinasaurs and Dreamspace folks organically lead to many, many “side projects” some of which are documented here because, photos!
DinaCafe / Lounge w Tali and the Dinasaurs – DIY filters – Caffeinated contributions – Lounge / after-dark toddy Shenanigans (Oh My Gourd)
getting started: DIY filtersDinasaur international contributionspodcast! new episode every morning 🙂 Dinacafe birds – Origami by JayBrendi Coral Alphabet designDinaLounge shenanigans DinaLounge Repurposed audio ampMarc extracts Papain at DinaLoungs DInaCafe iteration – Mang & Tegan. Photo: Betty Sargeant
Papaya sap based alternative to CivetCat Coffee w Marc and the BioLab – see also a side-side-project using papain protease enzyme for vegan cheese w Ahac and BioLab
Papain rich sap just beneath the skin of the PapayaThe hotel owner generously helped us tap his plantsPapain sap – this needs an incubator for activation
ShroomMonitor w Cris, Pramo, Brian, and a hacked humidifier – Introducing Microcontrollers with Arduino and reverse engineering to emulate a touch sensor
fully hacked humidifier to respond to environment sensors via arduino
BikingHacks w Andy and DreamspaceCollective – Turning bicycles into horses using Coconuts and laser-cutting inspired by MontyPython and Trotify
need for steed – Trotify
Other other projects – DIY Incubator w BioLab – ButterChurn jar w 3D printed hand-crank inspired by visit to the museum – Caffeinator redux – cold brew coffee to keep caffeinated in spite of power cuts
By day, I am the managing director of the Media Archaeology Lab at CU Boulder. The rest of the time I am an artist and researcher, interested in collaborative engagement, performative chaos, archival impermanence and DIY defamiliarization. I am pro complication, imperfection and visibility. In pursuing these things, my media ranges from hardware hacking to hand-crafted zines. I completed my PhD in the Intermedia Arts Writing and Performance program at CU in 2020 with a dissertation titled Voluntary Deconvenience and my MFA in Experimental Documentary Arts at Duke in 2015 with a thesis titled thoroughly known. The former is a series of tech-education workshops geared towards exploration of “convenience” as it relates to technology and its role in the social, economic, political and environmental framework of the present world. The latter is a personal exploration of psychiatric diagnosis, specifically autism, and of the language used in diagnostic texts.
