alex mackenzie

 
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Alex MacKenzie is a west coast-based Canadian media artist working primarily with analog film equipment and hand processed imagery. He creates works of expanded cinema, light projection installation, and projector performance. His work has screened at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, the EXiS Experimental Film Festival in Seoul, Oberhausen in Germany, Lightcone in Paris, Kino Arsenal in Berlin and many other festivals and art spaces worldwide. Alex was the founder and curator of the Edison Electric Gallery of Moving Images, the Blinding Light!! Cinema and the Vancouver Underground Film Festival. He was an artist in residence at Atelier MTK in Grenobles France, the Struts Gallery/Faucet Media in New Brunswick, Cineworks' Analog Film Annex in Vancouver and Daimon in Gatineau. Alex co-edited Damp: Contemporary Vancouver Media Art (Anvil Press 2008), and interviewed David Rimmer for Loop, Print, Fade + Flicker: David Rimmer's Moving Images (Anvil Press 2009). Commissions include Portal, (Situated Cinema WNDX Winnipeg 2012), Auroratone: Digitalis (FilmPop Montreal 2012), The Film That Buys The Cinema (Cube Bristol 2013) and Hyborian Witch (Wrong Wave/Kensington Gore 2013). Alex is a founding member of the Iris Film Collective in Vancouver.
BIO

current/upcoming

yul20a at experiments in cinema april 23-27, 2024
waiting room at dresdner schmalfilmtage mar 14-17 2024

experiments for a single projector euro-tour 2024:
screenings and workshops

mire, nantes screening at blockhaus feb 17
les ombres électriques, rennes feb 27
mire, nantes workshops feb 28-29
diffraktion 13, berlin march 2
bal lab, riga  march 5
whs theatre, helsinki march 7
filmverkstaden, vaasa march 9-10

spectral wanderings research residency part three, nantes france feb 17-26 2024
yul20a
european premiere, international competition at alternative film video festival, new belgrade serbia dec 6-9 2023

waiting room and pinhole park screen at lyra arte bogota columbia nov 24 2023
waiting room screens at engauge film festival, seattle nov 1-4 2023
world premiere of yul20a at antimatter [media art], victoria bc oct 19-29 2023

experiments for a single projector euro-tour 2023:
screenings and workshops
rochefort-sur-loire, july 20
crater-lab, barcelona july 28/29

filmkoop wien, vienna july 30/31
plymouth 37 looe st aug 2
london close-up cinema aug 7
london not nowhere (closed workshop) aug 8
frome bennett centre aug 9
newcastle star & shadow cinema aug 11/12

spectral wanderings research residency part two, rochefort-sur-loire july 11-21 2023
pinhole park screens at exis, seoul south korea july 20-27 2023
waiting room plays at experiments in cinema, albuquerque new mexico april 18-22 2023

pinhole park and waiting room presented at nomos nomade#4, st. nazaire feb 11 2023
spectral wanderings research residency part one, nantes feb 5-12 2023
pinhole park screens at harkat film festival mumbai india dec 9-11 2022
pinhole park at north bay film festival nov 27 2022
pinhole park at engauge film festival, seattle nov 2-5 2022
pinhole park at crossroads, san francisco august 28 2022
the hollow moutain, phosphene & mall emotions at the cinematheque, vancouver august 17 2022
waiting room premieres on the vanlive! screen at georgia and granville, vancouver may 2 -june 5 2022
pinhole park screens at experiments in cinema, albuquerque new mexico online may 9-23 2022
the hollow mountain premieres live at oberhausen film festival april 30-may 9 2022
pinhole park plays at open screening, oberhausen film festival april 30-may 9 2022

alex mackenzie presents greasing the wheels, 16mm projector maintenance workshop, iris film collective march 29 2022
jen morris + alex mackenzie collab, experimental intermedia nyc mar 26 2022
alex mackenzie interviewed by gerry fialka (los angeles) via streamyard on youtube, nov 26 2021
alex mackenzie artist talk for "film friends" with lisa marr & paolo davanzo, epfc zoom sept 11 2021
hyborian witch presented as part of the "blinding light" program at cripta 747, turin italy dec 15 2021
agar-agar and effulgence presented as a part of the harkat 16mm festival, mumbai india dec 10 2021
effulgence presented as part of "play" at platform gallery, winnipeg sept 2021
pinhole park presented at iris film collective fieldhouse as a part of infinite depth of field, sept 25 2021

totem presented as a part of remount of iris film collective's "end of the world" online feb 2021
world premiere of think before you think: a portrait of rick raxlen at antimatter, victoria bc oct 17 2020
out now: mackenzie featured in jonathan walley's "cinema expanded: avant-garde film in the age of intermedia” (oxford u. press 2020.)
the hollow mountain at oberhausen film festival may 13-18 2020 & european tour to follow (CANCELLED DUE TO PANDEMIC)
phosphene at cosmic ray festival, chapel hill north carolina mar 5 2020
totem screens as part of iris film collective group show at fabrica de arte cubano in havana jan 31 2020
mackenzie featured in dan browne's "projections as performance: recent directions in canadian expanded cinema” now available in
process cinema: handmade film in the digital age. (ed: janine marchessault/scott mackenzie. mcgill-queens university press 2019.)

interview with dr. martha radice now up on cityandsociety website
totem screens as part of consciousness of changing climate film festival, berlin july 16 2019
experiments for a single projector #3: granular flight (with stephen wood) part of new works, sawdust collector at gold saucer vancouver may 7 2019
greasing the wheels: 16mm projector and splicer maintenance workshop copresented by iris film collective and cineworks vancouver may 4th 2019

closed-eye hallucination, a part of iris film collective's loopdaloop 16mm installation, capture festival vancouver april 17-19 2019
experiments for a single projector #2, part of new works, sawdust collector at gold saucer vancouver april 2 2019
experiments for a single projector #1: mall emotions (with clare kenny) part of new works, sawdust collector at gold saucer vancouver feb 26 2019

hyborian witch
screens at cinema-nova, brussels feb 15 2019
screening of beauty in pesticides, effulgence, and agar-agar, experimental film society queen mary university of london oct 19 2018
world premiere of all four movements of phosphene, antimatter film festival oct 18 2018

agar-agar screens as a part of the local sightings festival, seattle sept 21-29 2018
panel discussion participant on handmade emulsion, workshop lead on projector maintenance and expanded cinema, agar-agar and totem screenings,
live performance of phosphene: independent film labs encounter, mexico city sept 5-9 2018
beauty in pesticides screens at the winnipeg underground film festival june 1 2018
effulgence screens at acid-free, the LA Art Book Market with echo park film centre may 5&6 2018
phosphene live projector performance and improv w/ peggy lee's band and wallgrin, wise hall vancouver april 20 2018
agar-agar screens as a part of experiments in cinema, albuquerque nm april 4 2018
totem
screens at back to the future analog film and sound festival, filmwerkplaats rotterdam nov 5 2017
agar-agar screens at antimatter film festival, victoria oct 18 2017
effulgence and totem screen with cinemor77 at the electric fields festival, drumlanrig castle, scotland sept 2 2017
effulgence and totem screen with cinemor77 at doune the rabbit hole, cardross estae, sterlingshire, scotland aug 19 2017
effulgence and totem screen with cinemor77 at butefest, rothesay, scotland july 29 2017
effulgence and totem screen with cinemor77 at the kelburn garden party, kelburn castle, scotland july 1 2017
effulgence and totem screen with cinemor77 at the mohr festival balquhidder, perthshire scotland may 28 2017
effulgence screens at experiments in cinema v12.3, the guild albuquerque new mexico april 19 2017
totem and effulgence screen at the image before us: iris film collective, cinematheque vancouver march 20 2017
rgb in 16mm presented at influx, surrey art gallery february 24 2017
apparitions presented at western front vancouver, february 16 2017
16mm film graffiti workshop art together surrey art gallery february 14 2017
handmade emulsion workshop at annex, cineworks february 4/5 2017
this charming couple screens at the experimental film symposium la lumiere montreal dec 15 2016
from falaise screens with one take super 8 at strathcona community centre vancouver nov 17 2016
apparitions screens at antimatter film festival, victoria bc oct 27-29 2016
totem screens with end of the world in haida gwaii oct oct 20 2016
effulgence screens at underdox, munich germany oct 7 2016
effulgence screens at local sightings film festival, nw film centre seattle sept 22-oct 1 2016

apparitions west coast usa/mid-canada tour 2017
performance: excinema grand illusion cinema seattle feb 28 2017
performance: northwest film centre portland march 2 2017
iris film collective screening at boathouse microcinema march 3 2017
expanded cinema performance workshop northwest film centre portland march 4 2017
performance: the loft at buck's 5th ave, olympia march 8 2017
performance: exploratorium san francisco march 10 2017
expanded cinema workshop exploratorium san francisco march 11 2017
canyon cinema curated 50th anniversary expanded cinema screening exploratorium san francisco march 11 2017
performance: shapeshifters oakland march 12 2017
performance: echo park film centre march 15 2017
expanded cinema workshop denver film society march 18 2017
performance: denver film society march 19 2017
performance: university of colorado boulder march 20 2017
expanded cinema workshop fava edmonton april 1 2017
performance: fava edmonton april 1 2017

performance & talk:csif calgary april 3 2017
artist talk university of regina april 4 2017
performance: independent visions/regina public library film theatre regina april 4 2017
expanded cinema workshop paved arts saskatoon april 6 2017
performance: paved arts saskatoon april 6 2017

performance: cinematheque winnipeg april 8 2017

apparitions eastern us/canada tour 2016
apparitions premieres at red room baltimore hosted by sight unseen april 8 2016
expanded cinema workshop at psychic reading baltimore hosted by sight unseen april 9 2016
apparitions performed at rhizome washington dc april 10 2016
expanded cinema workshop at rhizome washington dc april 11 2016
apparitions performed at big mama's cinematheque philadelphia april 13 2016
expanded cinema workshop at big mama's cinematheque philadelphia april 14 2016
expanded cinema workshop at negativland nyx april 16 2016
apparitions performed at microscope gallery nyc april 17 2016
artist talk at syracuse university dept of transmedia april 19 2016
apparitions performed at harvard carpenter centre boston hosted by balagan april 21 2016
expanded cinema workshop at agx film collective boston april 23 2016
apparitions performed at nightingale cinema chicago april 27 2016
apparitions performed at 121 studios hosted by lomaa london april 29 2016
expanded cinema workshop at 121 studios hosted by lomaa london april 30 2016
apparitions performed at the gladstone hotel hosted by early monthly film segments toronto may 2 2016
handmade emulsion workshop at lift in toronto may 3/4 2016
apparitions performed at cinematheque quebecois montreal cohosted by double negative and visions may 7 2016
handmade emulsion workshop at daimon in gatineau cohosted by windows collective may 8 2016
apparitions performed at daimon gatineau cohosted by windows collective may 8 2016
expanded cinema workshop at double negative studios montreal cohosted by visions may 10 2016
recent works by iris film collective with alex mackenzie in person at microcinema etre hosted by visions may 11 2016

interviews/writings
interview with peter sandwark, influx magazine 2016
interview with matt rossoni, lomaa 2016
luma interview iris film collective summer 2015
discorder interview iris film collective july/aug 2015
interview with ali lopez, post everything cfuv victoria (oct 10 2012)
interview by kirk finken in guerrila (july 2012)
lycanthropy, essay for strange codes: the life and films of arthur lipsett
monument, essay for empty quarter: notes and pictures
toward an ecology of film (claudio cacciotti)
living, breathing images (marie-hélène lemaire)
contingencies and continuities: the wooden lightbox
and new media history (zoë constantinides)
listening to the lightbox: recollecting a secret art (samuel thulin)

book reviews
review of loop, print, fade + flicker: david rimmer's moving images
(essay by mike hoolboom, interview by alex mackenzie) in senses of cinema
and in canadian literature
review of same in toro
review of damp: contemporary vancouver media art in broken pencil
(edited/designed by alex macKenzie and oliver hockenhull)

 

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