test — The Cummings Twins

Exhibitions
Publications
Performances
Workshops

Who We Are

Art and Magic

Mark and Paul are multidisciplinary artists who are inspired by esotericism and mysticism. Transcendence is critical to their work. The twins want to reveal what is subtle and invisible and make it tangible to experience. They use many different mediums to produce art often facilitated by digital technology. Their work is highly experimental and improvised and encompasses many modes. These include imagery, sculpture, video, performance and installation. Working together they build upon each other's ideas.

They are active in the Hermetic wisdom schools and Druidic practices. They also study other esoteric belief systems such as shamanism. These ideas are coupled with contemporary culture to produce an alternative visual language transporting ancient to present. They believe that both art and magic are interchangeable and provide the same outcome for living life. This is best described by Alan Moore's quote.

"Magic in its earliest form is often referred to as 'the art'. Art is, like magic, the science of manipulating symbols, words, or images, to achieve changes in consciousness." Alan Moore transcript Documentary Dec 3 2013

What We Do

Imagery

Their imagery relates to topics such as the the supernatural, theological symbolism, mythology, cosmology and natural forms. They montage mediums such as paint, photography, collage with digital illustration and photographic post-production. The aesthetic of the work is akin to design and pop and contemporary culture.

Sculpture

Mark and Pauls' current sculptural work include free-standing animal objects as well as crystalline structures that are hung on walls. They appear to have originated from computer games and solidified out of virtual reality looking very low poly, distilled, minimal, clean, vividly coloured. The works derive from brutalism and abstract minimalism. The animal forms are evocative of Greek myths and at the same time connected to Northern European shamanic totems and fables.

The twins have an interest in how computers can assist in the production of art. The wall hangings are procedurally generated from a randomised sequence of numbers that create geometric terrains, wave motions and crystal growth. The sculptures represent the elementals deities, heavenly bodies characterised by their textured surfaces and colours.

Video

Paul has a particular interest in producing video art pieces. The 3D digital and video editing environment is his alchemical laboratory. Through experimentation, he montages illustrations, motion graphics, found photography and footage. Nature, celestial objects, sacred geometry are in his work. He layers these symbols and motifs to derive an archetypal language.

The films allude to auspicious astronomical events and supernatural phenomena. The play of light has an important role, emanating, refracting, reflecting and radiating. The notion of time is important to him, that is evident with speeding up and slowing down of videos and exploring loops and cycles. The works are both displayed standalone or complement the performances they do.

Live Acoustic

Marks & Paul Cummings are also regular music performers as well as visual artists. They have been playing mainly Symphonic Gongs ever since 2015. As performers, they work together to bring you a sonorous experience. These sessions encourage the participants to focus on well being and mindfulness. Breath-work and meditation is an essential part of the practice.Designed to alter states of mind, the effect of these performances is immediate. Science has proven that these instruments induce Theta state brain wave patterns. This frequency corresponds to wakeful dreaming and deep relaxation. The virtue of two people playing the gongs allows for a binaural experience. This extends the listeners consciousness that much further.
Our audience has described their experiences’ as:

Mystical
Cosmic
Ethereal
Unworldly
Dreamlike
Ancestral
Healing

The twins performances have a deep connection to magical traditions and customs.Their current project called. ‘The Mystery School of Sound’, is a meditational performance music piece. The instruments they play include an array of large symphonic gongs, Tibetan bowls, and the flute. The music score references the Hermetic treatise called the Kybalion the ancient text is about intrinsic universal principles. The performance helps participants to relax and reflect upon themselves. There is also time to contemplate the greatness of the universe.

Live electronic

The twins perform experimental and improvised electronic music. The sets have atmospheric cinematic themes and are designed to meditate too. In essence they pertain to electronic psychedelia. These pieces evoke a spiritual dream-like realities where different worlds and ideas collide with each other. Each improvised set is unique it is a continuous development from the previous performance. With a necessity to introduce new sounds and instruments every time it evolves and transmutes. Live instruments and sound banks are processed through generative software and electronic hardware. Natural and abstract sounds flow in an out of drones and synthetic procedural sounds. Filtered chants and dialogue drift in and out of focus. These works are often incorporated into their live performances with the gong percussion.

Workshops

The Cummings Twins provide many workshops that encompass the visual arts and music. The art workshops include collage, sculpture and drawing the sound workshops provide live music with a guided meditation focusing on well-being and mindfulness. The workshops provide a deeper understanding of what inspires the Cummings Twins; they are exciting, informative and hands-on, they include all abilities and age groups with a broad range of classes to try out.

Making Art

Participants can engage both with technology and the subject of magic and are informed through a discussion about various technical and philosophical approaches to making artwork. The twins are also trained in the classical methods of life drawing by RA masters and can teach many methods of drawing and painting.

Music and Mindfulness

The music workshops focus on sound healing with gong and singing bowls. This includes breathing practice and meditation to promote deep relaxation. Participants can also learn about these percussion instruments and taught how to play them.

The Future

Technology and Art

They have a clear vision of the future and what they want to do with their art practice. They are looking for a synthesis that combines all their experiences up to date into one cohesive form. They believe the best way to deliver their philosophy is through live interactive performances and immersive installations. They will call these sonic temples of light.They envision art galleries and other alternative spaces to projection-map onto surrounding architecture, fauna and sculptures. It will be a stage for a mystical landscape including animals and oversized crystals, geodes and totems. A transcendent space to expand the participants experience and consciousness.They want to provide;

Audience engagement

Create play and interaction.
Make them feel a part of something bigger.
Bring benefit to the individual.
Bring benefit to local communities.
Encouraging proactiveness.

Performances with a message.

Mindfulness,
Well being
Positivity
Magic & mysticism esoteric philosophy.

Art installations.

Inform and Educate,
Learn through play

Educate through workshops

Teach new skills in making and playing instruments
Inspire inquiry

Messages they will deliver:

Technology put to positive uses.
A caring attitude to ecology.

What they need:

Projection mapping hardware and software.
Projectors.
Computer hardware.
Locations - Art galleries, venue spaces.
Marketing engine.
Materials & Installation budget.

Their Origins

Digital Punks

The twins were already in the East End a decade before the advent of Shoreditch becoming a digital hub. They were carving up their own space in the internet's wild west. Mark and Paul became renowned for producing online art even before social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram ever existed.

The twins were known as digital Punks working under the pseudonym of AZ2Lab. They made digital images, motion graphics, music, interactive art and installations. They Featured as VJ's in many of the venues in the area. They rapidly became a household name within the digital art scene. Their work showcased around the world at events and exhibitions; countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Spain and South Korea. They were also widely published here in the Uk and abroad.

A little later in their careers, the twins still maintained the digital heritage but used it as a process for painting. In this period they produced large-scale hyperrealist landscapes. This work got accepted into the national shows such as Mostyn Contemporary amongst others. The shortlisted painting titled Roadside came close to winning the prestigious Threadneedle Prize in 2010.

Nowadays, with growth and personal development, there is a change in their attitude and choice. The twins are more philosophical rather than social-political in their discourse. They are on a journey with their art, it is now inextricably linked with magic and mysticism.Phenomenology and magic share key concepts and question consciousness and our relation to it.

Other topics that these two subjects relate to are intention, altered states of perception, thought and imagination.They direct the audience to go beyond their normal condition and elevate them to a higher state of consciousness giving a perspective on themselves, their place on the earth and within the cosmos.