As the blossoming of the rowan trees nears an end and berries begin to build up, Sorbus presents a meditation labyrinth by the art collective MSHR of US artists Birch Cooper and Brenna Murphy. Since Brenna Murphy’s 2014 solo show Sentient Sequence at Sorbus and MSHR’s performance at Sorbus' open air eventVeranda last year, we have been waiting for an opportunity to host an exhibition by the collective. Now, as Cooper and Murphy will be in Helsinki for a residency at HIAP, the opportunity was seized.
MSHR is the art collective of Birch Cooper and Brenna Murphy. Their work meshes digital sculpture, analog circuitry and ceremonial performance. They construct and perform cybernetic compositions using synthesizers of their own design. For exhibitions, they install macro-arrangements of these sculptural instruments to create immersive light-sound-scapes. In their performances, they engage the systems through a series of unique interfaces. They also work with 3D modeling programs to design virtual reality spaces, embedded with generative computer music systems. MSHR's sculptural, musical and electronic work inform each other deeply, creating the meta-form that is their collaborative practice. MSHR emerged from the art collective Oregon Painting Society in 2011. They were artists in residence at Sonoscopia, 2014; Eyebeam, 2014; Pioneer Works, 2016; Signal Culture, 2016. They are represented by Upfor in Portland, US.