The Substation- Oblation

Encounter the infinite in this new audiovisual experience. Created by Tamil-Australian electronic composer, Vijay Thillaimuthu, Oblation draws on chanting practices and explores the relationship between vibration and geometry, mantra and mandala.

Presented by The Substation, Asia TOPA, Arts Centre Melbourne Informed by the rich history of sound creation, Oblation incorporates creative technologies with traditional melodies and rhythms from South India and Sri Lanka. Featuring singing, lasers, projections, and vibrations, Oblation is an evocative sonic and visual world premiere.

Oblation creates a restorative and transformative space through visualisation of sonic performance using lasers, projections and cymatics – the patterns that emerge through response of particles/liquids to sound. Underneath a large-scale three dimensional projection surface, an expansive web of electronics form a central tower in service of creation and contemplation.

The tower is performed in collaboration with Hari Sivanesan’s Carnatic music ensemble, the traditional music of South India and Sri Lanka. The work elicits the birth of the universe through embryonic shapes and chanting practices. It considers form developing outof the formless, and explores the correlation between vibration and geometry, mantra and mandala. Forging connection through (and despite) sacrifice, together we encounter the infinite, developing a throughline from the ancient to the emergent.

GET TICKETS HERE: Oblation — 4–8 March 2025 — The Substation