about: bambuco

	Genesis Simon Barley founded Bambuco in 1998. His background was spatial design for theatre/dance and installation sculpture. His leitmotif was manipulation of vertical space and it remained his constant obsession. 1993: While sitting by Melbourne’s Yarra River, Simon pondered building his own bridge* over the stretch. He surmised that what was required was a light material; strong, versatile and inexpensive. The following two years were thus spent investigating bamboo - principally throughout South East Asia - and experimenting with relative methods of construction. 1995: Simon presented his first public, large scale bamboo installation. At the time he was in his seventh year as Designer in Residence for Melbourne’s Contemporary Dance Company Danceworks. The project was presented by Melbourne International Arts Festival and over two weeks, Simon constructed a dense bamboo sculpture which hugged the existing footbridge across the Yarra at Southbank. The construction was followed by a season of aerial dance performance by Danceworks. What Simon observed here, and which became so crucial to the philosophy of Bambuco, was that the audience seemed more captivated by the construction process than the spectacular performance. Simon passed away in 2007. Concept Bambuco creates structures from bamboo, rope and steel. There is nothing unusual about this; people have been building structures from bamboo for thousands of years. What makes Bambuco’s work unusual is the sheer scale of the installations and the spectacular upward progress of the builders. Audience are also attracted by the apparent danger. Each work is site-specific and combines theatre, sculpture and architecture. Structures are rarely repeated. The sudden disappearance of the installation at the end of the project asserts the essential, ephemeral nature of the work. Into the newly cleared site rushes an absence – an empty space – that would not have been there prior. This impermanence plays with impression, memory and our understanding of positive and negative space. It the heart of the work. The Company Our base is the small town of Natimuk in south west Victoria, Australia. Natimuk’s population is 500. It is a place known internationally for the exceptional rock climbing on nearby Mt Arapiles and it is almost famous for the Nati Frinj – our arts festival. Members of the construction crew are all experienced rock climbers and the company comprises designers, engineers, and managers. While the core company is made up of Australians, company policy is to teach and employ local climbers in the destination country for each project. Bambuco has a growing and very valued international crew. Although the nucleus of the work is visual/spatial, Bambuco has a committed sound designer who records, manipulates and relays sound from the construction periods, the public and the material itself. As a key tenet of our work is engagement with people and context, Tobi’s sound is vital; his designs inevitably inspire curiosity and discussion. The Material Moso is the common name of the species Phyllostachys pubescens; the bamboo most commonly used for scaffolding in Asia. Shipped directly from plantations in Anji Province in China, our bamboo has been selected by cutters who know our requirements: six years old, large diameter and relatively straight. Each shipment may be used several times. The Technique Bambuco’s basic construction method combines traditional south east Asian bamboo scaffolding principles with modern materials, namely: synthetic cord, steel and rigging fixtures. Access and safety systems are adapted from rock climbing practice. Most building is by hand only and without the aid of lifting machines. Our pre-tensioned modular system, however, the cigar which premiered in France in 2004, does require telescopic lifts or cranes for reasons of weight handling. The cigar combines bamboo with steel frames and cables, enabling immensely strong column sections. Each project goes through an initial rendering and modelling stage with analysis and certification by structural engineers. The installations must be able to withstand a cyclone. The final model acts as a three dimensional ‘map’ at 1:20 scale. Our tools and equipment is transported in a six metre shipping container and stored in Europe. Time Frame Most projects are designed specifically for a proposed site and take one to two weeks to complete with a company of about ten. An average structure consumes about twelve tonnes or 5,000 metres of Moso. Smaller projects, such as Hibiki and Kuukan: Melbourne International Festival 2003, require only four persons for four days and are proposed for galleries in collaboration with musical ensembles. Pull down usually (but not always) begins very soon after completion of construction, taking roughly one day for each week spent building. Collaborations Bambuco installations seem to invite the possibility of collaboration with other artists and companies. In the last few years these included the Japanese Bamboo Symphonia for Melbourne International Festival; the French Group F, Compagnie Caracol and lighting designer Eric Loustou-Carrere for Lille 2004; Cie Carabosse in Villeurbanne, Angers and in Leuven; the Australian Acrobat in Singapore for the opening of The Esplanade Theatres and in UK with Walk the Plank. On the completed structures we may present one or several performance events using fire, aerialists, performers or pyrotechnics or a combination of these. The collaborations themselves often open new directions for future work. The Media The bizarre nature of our work; the massive scale, the incongruous material and process and the spectacular visual and aural imagery provides a very effective media hook. Since we often begin building well before a festival commences, Bambuco projects bring a lot of free pre-festival publicity. We are very practiced at dealing with press and television crews and always willing to make time for them. Chronology 1998 Adelaide Scaff with 5 Angry Men Manila Arch 1999 Berlin Arch 2000 Melbourne Beacon and Scaff with 5 Angry Men Horsham Bridge To… with Y- Space 2001 Moscow Ship of Fools with Cie Carabosse; Moscow Scaff with 5 Angry Men 2002 London Reach with Walk the Plank Manchester Reach with Walk the Plank Singapore Shell with Acrobat 2003 Leuven Flight with Cie Carabosse Lille (development of Ephemera for Dunkerque and Lille 2004) Angers Nomad's Land with Cie Carabosse and Jo Bitume Melbourne Hibiki and Kuukan with Japanese Bamboo Symphonia Natimuk Office 2004 Dunkerque Ephemera 1 Villeurbanne Nomad's Land with Cie Carabosse for Les Invites Lille Ephemera and Transience with Group F and Eric Loustau-Carrere for the Capital of European Culture Cognac with Cie Carabosse 2005 Melbourne Fringe Festival - Human Momentum with Dislocate Bellingen Global Carnival, Souk 2006 Bendigo Commonwealth Games, Festival Melbourne2006 - Human Momentum with Dislocate Balmoral Cyrk with YSpace 2007 Terschelling Oerol – Netherlands Souk/Le Dit du Bambu with Compangnie Caracol Rennes Souk/Le Dit du Bambu with Compangnie Caracol Chalon Aubagne Souk/Le Dit du Bambu with Compangnie Caracol North Melbourne Meatworks Cyrk with YSpace Bitche Willy Nilly & Willy Nilly with Cie Carabosse Perth International Arts Festival Travelling Curtain 2008 Marseilles Souk/Le Dit du Bambu with Compangnie Caracol Martigues Souk/Le Dit du Bambu with Compangnie Caracol Newcastle-upon-Tyne & Gateshead This Bridge Supporting Bodies In the past, Bambuco has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Arts Victoria *The Bridge over the Yarra is a bridge we’ve yet to build.