Onassis
Onassis

Pepper Levain

Photo: Kostas Vakidis

Pepper Levain is an Onassis AiR Emergency Fellow 2020-21.

Bio

Pepper Levain is based between Athens and Berlin. After having documented international queer nightlife scenes photographically over many years, the multimedia artist embraced music production and sound growingly in her professional practice. Having been featured in various exhibitions and magazines around the globe, e.g. i-D, Vogue and Kaltblut, her photographs are now presented in the recently published book ‘New Queer Photography’ (Gingko Press, 2020). Coming originally from experimental stage performance and performance art Pepper’s path has now taken the artist back on stage with a new released EP, titled ‘Welcome to The Other Side’.

ARTISTIC RESEARCH

The multimedia artist merges sung, spoken and chanted poetry with acoustic landscapes. Sampled cello play and field recordings melt into hypnotic vocals and heavy-hearted beats.

Coming from a performance art background Pepper explores the interaction of visuality, body performance and sound on and off stage. Her live shows may consist of projected visual tales with acoustic jamming or evenly full DAW/controller setups with artificially manipulated and multiplied voice. This exposes the artist’s research journey right on: “Who and why is my voice and how many voices am I?” Taking the exploration of sound further Pepper is seeking parallels between the acoustic experience and the sense of smelling. Engaging with herbalism, witch history, and with alternative healing practices the production of tinctures, lotions and remedies belong to Pepper’s work routine. After having had a dream of playing a concert with the fragrances of essential oils, translating and converting notes and nuances from the auditory into the olfactory sphere is one current path of her research.

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