What would life on earth feel like if it was played like a level in a computer game - or explored like a test setting in a simulation? The transformative nature of reality itself is ongoingly questioned by Norwegian-German composer, artist and performer Tobi Pfeil (they/them), in works ranging from electronic music productions, multi-medial music theater compositions, performances and game design. Skillfully implementing various digital media in forms that transgress the status quo, the line between artificiality and reality remains ambiguously blurred in Pfeil’s alluring hyper-space playgrounds and speculative post-digital narratives.
Tobi Pfeil’s explorative methods can be traced back to their early performances in punk-bands and free improv groups, which led to a BA in Music Performance from RMC Copenhagen, with tutors such as Jenny Hval, Thurston Moore, Jakob Bro and Lotte Anker. Pfeil subsequently studied composition with Simon Steen-Andersen and Cathy Van Eck in Bern, and Alexander Schubert in Hamburg, and is currently using AI tools and Unreal Engine in works examining virtual environments as a transcendental mediums, as possibilities for re-framing our relationships to technology, nature and our personal sense of self.
Their work has been presented in contexts such as the Venice Biennale, CTM Festival Berlin, Festival International De La Imagen Colombia, Staatsoper unter den Linden, Jam Fes Tokyo, Black Box Theatre Oslo, Dover Lane Music Conference Kolkata, Iceland Airwaves and Fika Fest Montreal.
They have won several Grants and Prizes, including ANSA Juvenarte's first prize for 'Lied für Ghost', Ingerid, Synnøve og Elias Fegerstens stiftelse's work grant and project grants by the Norwegian Arts Council.
AFTERLIFE [2023]
