Video, Film and Performance
Janet Biggs is a research based, interdisciplinary artist known for her immersive work in video, film and performance. Biggs’ work focuses on individuals in extreme landscapes or situations, navigating the territory between art, science and technology. I have been fortunate to have worked with Janet Biggs on a range of film and performance projects since 2018, with roles ranging from AI developer to music composer and beyond.
Entanglements, 2022 by artist Janet Biggs, mathematician Agnieszka Miedlar, and physicist Daniel Tapia Takaki, with music composed by me.
Six-channel high-definition video installation with sound and interactive whiteboards.
Running time: three endless loops, 05:08 each, total running time 15:24.
This work was commissioned and supported by the Integrated Arts Research Initiative (IARI) at the Spencer Museum of Art in collaboration with the Arts at CERN.
A.I. Anne is an ongoing performance and research project focused on neurodiverse inclusion in creative collaborations between humans and AI entities. The project was developed by Janet Biggs and myself, with regular vocalist Mary Esther Carter, and has been presented in live and live-streamed formats.
I developed the AI systems for the project, working across areas including vocalization, emotional prosody, real-time interaction, and broader creative direction. The work centres on including absent and neurodiverse voices in AI development and creative technology practice.
Project overview and context: https://janetbiggsperformance.com/about
Date: April 11, 2025
Location: Jeu de Paume, Paris
Performance-series entry describing A.I. Anne as a wordless storyteller using human and technological improvisation/vocalization to advocate for neurodiversity in AI. This edition is listed in collaboration with me.
https://www.jbiggs.com/the-ai-anne-project
https://janetbiggsperformance.com/performances/v/the-ai-anne
Date: September 28-29, 2024 (performance page lists September 28, 2024)
Location: NYU Tandon @ The Yard, Brooklyn, NY
An ongoing A.I. Anne performance combining human and technological improvisation and vocalization to advocate for neurodiverse inclusion in AI.
https://www.jbiggs.com/stories-without-words
https://janetbiggsperformance.com/performances/v/hosted-with-custom-z9ehj-dwh9x-6jefh
Date: June 26, 2024 (jbiggs activities page); 5/16/24 on the performance page
Location: Galerie Analix Forever, Geneva, Switzerland
A.I. Anne is presented as a collaboration exploring the inclusion of absent and neurodiverse voices in AI. The performance includes a duet between soprano Ileana Munoz and A.I. Anne.
https://www.jbiggs.com/digital-echo-performance
https://janetbiggsperformance.com/performances/v/planet-earth-mejnx-d2a8y-hcrlk
Date: October 31, 2023
Location: ECOSOC Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, New York City
Performance built around texts on care and support, combining human and technological improvisation, vocalization, movement, and storytelling, featuring A.I. Anne.
https://www.jbiggs.com/voices-of-inclusion
https://janetbiggsperformance.com/performances/v/everything-to-sell-anything-427ge-88xsk-kde33
Date: July 30, 2020
Location: Live-streamed presentation by Fridman Gallery and CT::SWaM under NYC shelter-in-place conditions
Live-streamed pandemic performance where I used my own brainwaves to control a drum set. A.I. Anne is a machine-learning entity I created and trained on Mary Esther Carter’s voice.
https://www.jbiggs.com/augmentation-and-amplification
https://janetbiggsperformance.com/performances/v/john-mcenroe-does-voice-over-now-zpk5h-tc9nt-3s839
Date: July 18, 2019
Location: Theater at New Museum, New York City
Workshop performance on shared creative production between humans and technology. It opens with Mary Esther Carter duetting with A.I. Anne, trained on Mary’s voice.
https://www.jbiggs.com/how-the-light-gets-in
https://janetbiggsperformance.com/performances/v/how-to-create-an-under-construction-page-nmhkn-et8z6-62msd
Mathematics and music are handled by similar regions in our brains; and it is no serendipity that Janet Biggs’ music plays an overwhelming role in awakening our subjectivity and bridging the gap between human and machine, between creativity and control, strength and frailty, and between our infinitesimal position in the universe and the heroic paths individuals may take.
This work featured Jason Barnes’ drumming arm.
My first collaboration with Janet, with Shimon the robot as the film composer. Tech details available here
Shown as part of Like Walking on Mars, Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos, Tenerife, Canary Islands.