HIBERNATION@​81BPM

Hibernation@81BPM functioned as a collaborative installation and performance featuring the work of DC poet and DJ Robert Bland, who performed his interconnected poetry in collaboration with Hackett’s downtempo composition and installation. The performance, poetry, and music were structured around the heart rhythm of a polar bear during a state of carnivore lethargy, or false hibernation. The initial heart rhythm of the polar bear provided a backbone for the entire 50 minute set of original music.

As the musicians performed in this enclosed structure, only the performers hands and equipment were visible, thus shielding them from the gaze of the dancers, visually protecting them from the wild energy of the club. The performance functioned in a way that the crowd could view the performers, but the performers could not see the crowd. They were isolated in the middle of a highly social environment. This work drew on correlations between the introverted nature of both the electronic composer and the hibernating polar bear.