Leviathan is a series of participatory, site specific residencies and performances developed by Live Digital Design, a collective of scenographers, creative technologists, researchers and fine artists.The project began as a residency in the Arctic Lofoten Islands for the Nordland Academy of Arts and the Norwegian Industrial Fishing Museum. Since then, Leviathan has taken place in an abandoned post office vault, a wall memorial, a refugee centre in the Arctic, science museums, digital and queer live art festivals, and a concert hall housed inside a vast disused fish oil tank. Each iteration responds directly to the physical, social and political context in which it is situated, working closely with local communities, both human and non-human. The six current iterations of the project are linked below.
Live Digital Design / Artist Developers
Live Digital Design was a collaborative collective formed by principal artists Joe Fairweather-Hole, Dave Meckin, Keir Williams, Clara Duran, Alice Helps and Rhiannon Evans. Together, we explored the intersection of performance and technology, with a particular focus on the staging of performance and the environments in which audiences and artists meet.
2015 | Leviathan’s Electrolarynx
Audiograft Festival, Oxford Story Museum
The first iteration of Leviathan, a touch‑activated sculptural “whale voice box” commissioned by Oxford Contemporary Music and installed in the museum’s former post‑office vault.
Audiograft Festival, Oxford Story Museum
The first iteration of Leviathan, a touch‑activated sculptural “whale voice box” commissioned by Oxford Contemporary Music and installed in the museum’s former post‑office vault.
2016 | Neptun Art/ Science Lab
Nordland Akademi, Melbu, Arctic Circle, NO
A collaborative Arctic residency establishing Leviathan as a research framework, reimagining the Norwegian Fishing Industry Museum and its island as a single, slumbering body.
Nordland Akademi, Melbu, Arctic Circle, NO
A collaborative Arctic residency establishing Leviathan as a research framework, reimagining the Norwegian Fishing Industry Museum and its island as a single, slumbering body.
2016 | Leviathan: The Deep
Nordland Akademi, Melbu, Arctic Circle, NO
A week-long installation, exhibition, and live performance developed for the Arctic Dialogues Conference, expanding Leviathan through sound, community collaboration, and live composition.
Nordland Akademi, Melbu, Arctic Circle, NO
A week-long installation, exhibition, and live performance developed for the Arctic Dialogues Conference, expanding Leviathan through sound, community collaboration, and live composition.
2017 | Leviathan: The Wave
Oxford Light Festival, Oxford War Memorial
A site-specific public installation for the Oxford Light Festival, translating Leviathan into a breaking wave of sound, light, and narrative around migration and the future of the sea.
Oxford Light Festival, Oxford War Memorial
A site-specific public installation for the Oxford Light Festival, translating Leviathan into a breaking wave of sound, light, and narrative around migration and the future of the sea.
2019 | Leviathan’s Light
Everlang Festival, Nordland, Arctic Circle, NO
A series of intimate light and underwater viewing installations for an Arctic winter festival, shifting Leviathan toward immersion, fragility, and embodied attention.
Everlang Festival, Nordland, Arctic Circle, NO
A series of intimate light and underwater viewing installations for an Arctic winter festival, shifting Leviathan toward immersion, fragility, and embodied attention.
2019 | Leviathan’s Temple
Submerge Festival, We The Curious, Bristol
A three-month immersive installation combining sound, sculpture, projection and community narratives, developed with Bristol’s port communities and presented at We The Curious as part of Submerge Festival 2019.
Submerge Festival, We The Curious, Bristol
A three-month immersive installation combining sound, sculpture, projection and community narratives, developed with Bristol’s port communities and presented at We The Curious as part of Submerge Festival 2019.