Silver Ochre
“Slyly sublime and beautifully brutal.”
– The Albuquerque Alibi
“Although Obstacle Illusion [Live] and Thollem’s original songs certainly produced feelings of tension within the audience through the auditory and visual intensity of the media, the performance as a whole was utterly unique, inviting a deep sense of reflection to those who attended, and spoke to modern social issues.”
– Lola Watts,
Santa Barbara Independent
With ACVilla’s work “there’s a continuous sense that things aren’t quite right but are still beautiful and intriguing. The Wire Magazine
Silver Ochre is a 31-minute surrealistic non-narrative film that pairs ACVilla’s unique contextualization technique with a soundtrack performed and recorded by Thollem. Through multiple overlaying of sonic and visual stimuli the experience is simultaneously pleasurable and challenging, encouraging multiple and personal interpretations. Silver Ochre is eternity filtered through two artists in the middle of a world on the edge. The duo’s work is “slyly sublime and beautifully brutal.” – The Albuquerque Alibi
To host a screening of the 32-minute film in your community, write to: contact @ thollemacvilla.com.
Thollem is a perpetually traveling pianist, keyboardist and composer. He’s spent most of his life living on the road throughout North America and Europe. His work is ever-changing, evolving and responding to the times and his experiences, both as a soloist and in collaboration with hundreds of artists across idioms and disciplines. “Thollem displays a chameleonic ability to adapt to suit whatever musical context presents itself…there is more than one way to access the infinite.” (Daniel Spicer, The Wire)
Since 2008, ACVilla (Chicana) has lived as a peripatetic photographer, videographer and visual artist. She focuses her camera on the nuances that define the character of the fleeting yet eternal present moment as well as the dynamics of the world at large. Her work is shown throughout the US and Europe in DIY spaces, museums, galleries, schools and universities. ACVilla is “the kind of fiercely independent artist the world needs more of.” (LiveEyeTV)
Thollem/ACVilla have been presented by:
Northwest Film Forum (Seattle), Hallwalls (Buffalo), Crystal Bridges (Bentonville), Krannert Art Museum (Urbana), Vision Festival (New York), University of Santa Barbara, Works/San José, Yellowstone Art Museum (Billings), Harwood Museum (Taos), Erie Art Museum, Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento), Guild Cinema (Abq), Icebox Project Space (Philadelphia), SITE Santa Fe, Kino Xenix (Zurich), Curva Minore (Palermo), Il Centro d’Arte dell’Università di Padova, Infrasuoni l’Asilo (Napoli), AngelicA (Bologna), and Metronome Festival (Dublin), among others throughout North America and Europe.
RESIDENCIES
Livorno IT @ Teatro Refugio – site-specific residency
Palermo, Sicilia @ Curva Minore – work on documentary series, Artists Engaged Episode 4: Tutti per Lelio
Santa Fe, NM @ Acequias de Las Joyas – continuing work on various documentaries
Poschiavo CH @ Uncool – workshop at local school and creating site-specific visual and audio recordings
Amsterdam NL @ The Atelier – to gather material for 2024 documentary
St. Erme FR @ Performing Arts Forum (PAF) – artists’ exchange
Porto PT @ Sonoscopia – to develop site-specific piece
Brooklyn, NY @ Pioneer Works – composing site-specific music and developing contextualizations
Gary, IN @ Calumet Artist Residency – project about Joe Hill. ACVilla: contextualizations realized with public domain footage. Thollem: compositions of songs with lyrics inspired by Joe Hill.