“The Humans”, theatrical performance, directed by Alexandre Singh/choreography and assistant director Flora Sans/© Kate Lacey and Alexandre Singh, courtesy of Sprüth Magers Berlin London

Hello Meth Lab In The Sun artist, Alexandre Singh’s The Humans is currently up at Sprüth Magers, London.

From the gallery:

Alexandre Singh’s The Humans represents the culmination of years of study, writing, drawing and sculpting by the artist for the creation of a three act theatre play. Commissioned by Witte de With, Rotterdam, and Performa 13, New York, Singh’s story unfolds amid an allegorical landscape: a mountain rises centre stage separating the realms of Charles Ray, the pontifical Apollonian sculptor, and N, the silent, agile Dionysiac Rabbit Queen. Seeking to introduce chaos into an otherwise orderly cosmos,
Tophole, Charles Ray’s fretful son, and Pantalingua, N’s daughter and interpreter, plot to contaminate the sculptor’s perfect statues with the passions, desires and bodily functions of humans – cold stone made living flesh….

Following performances at the Rotterdamse Schouwburg and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the body of work presented at Sprüth Magers in London transforms the gallery into a theatre-cum-museum devoted to the universe of objects and characters depicted in The Humans. The gallery’s shop front windows provide a proscenium arch for the projection of a full-length film of a performance of The Humans. This theater-like space is outfitted with crimson curtains, confounding the distinction between stage and audience, actor and viewer.

The Humans will be on view until March 29,

Psychic Ills are returning to Marfa this weekend, playing at Padre’s on Friday. Since their inception in 2003, the New York-based band has moved from spaced-out improvisational skronk through soothing ambient synth-work and zonked ragas to land in the desert blues territory of their last two albums. They’re also Ballroom Marfa alums, having performed at the opening of Jonah Freeman, Justin Lowe, and Alexandre Singh’s 2008 installation, Hello Meth Lab in The Sun.

Their most recent effort, One Track Mind, was produced by Neil Hagerty (see: Royal Trux, Howling Hex or Pussy Galore) and imports the astrally-inclined aesthetic of their earlier work to the sort of goner rock grooves explored by Kurt Vile, Dinosaur Jr. and the aforementioned Hagerty projects. For those considering ponying up the $7 cover charge, we offer the pretty beachfront psychedelia of “Mind Daze” from their 2011 album Hazed Dream as evidence of the impending good times. You may also stream their new album in its entirety at Spin.

They’re joined by Austin psych-rockers Holy Wave, who have tunes available for preview on Bandcamp.