Image Syncers
- Nina Davies
Western Front is pleased to present a performance by Nina Davies in the form of an open rehearsal by the fictional Image Syncers. The performance extends Davies’ exhibition, which centres on a new video narrated through an episode of a invented podcast What’s Sizzlin’. In the episode, investigative journalist Teagan Carroll recounts her first encounter with an Image Syncer community at the Trio Comms Hall; a moment the live performance restages.
Upon arrival, guests are invited to explore the gallery, watch the video, and familiarize themselves with the Image Syncers and the world they inhabit. Upstairs, a Twitch-style livestream plays at the entrance to the Grand Luxe Hall, featuring a workplace vlogger from Wifi Vision—a company selling movement-data packages for humanoid devices—who hosts a wager on whether a customer is “a bot or not.” The customer has called to report a glitch in their movement-data bundle, and when asked whether the training data is sourced from the real world, the streamer discovers that it is—and that the movements captured belong to the Image Syncers, a group who mimic AI-generated gestures from synthetic videos. As the video unfolds, the streamer realizes that the customer is, in fact, a fully autonomous bot. Since the ultimate aim of Image Syncers is to connect with AI worlds, the streamer—an Image Syncer themself—recognizes this moment as a long-awaited point of contact and invites the bot, Loren, to join an Image Synching séance.
At this point, the rehearsal begins. To enter the room, guests will be asked to camouflage themselves within the synthetic worlds the performers attempt to reach; ceremonial garments will be provided. For those who prefer not to enter the space, viewing from adjacent rooms will also be available. Ring lights equipped with phones will be positioned both inside and outside the performance area, enabling the audience to witness the rehearsal through the same networked outputs the dancers use to communicate with the AI systems they hope to encounter.
About the Artist
Nina Davies is a Canadian-British artist who considers the present moment by observing dance in popular culture and how it is disseminated, circulated, made, and consumed. Working primarily with video, performance, writing, and installation, her work considers current dance phenomena in relation to the wider socio-technical environments from which it emerges. This includes research into the recent commodification of the dancing body on digital platforms, and rethinking dances of today as traditional dances of the future. Oscillating between the use of fiction and non-fiction, her work helps build new critical frameworks for engaging with dance practices.
About the Performers
Torien Cafferata is an AuDHD interdisciplinary artist originally from Treaty 4 and Treaty 6 territory (Saskatoon, Canada), and based in Vancouver, Canada. Before receiving their MFA from Simon Fraser University, they trained as a performer, playwright, director, dramaturge, and educator. Cafferata’s practice spans a host of forms: devised creation, social practice, site-specific, mixed-reality, game design, ludology, and Pochinko clown. Cafferata is an avid trifler of digital platforms and lo-fi aesthetics, often using them in explorations of mad/disabled labour, play, interactivity, interpassivity, non-places, and hauntology. As co-Artistic Director of It’s Not A Box Theatre, they have toured performances and installations to the Prague Quadrennial, SummerWorks, and across Fringe Festivals.
Kevyn Hu is a queer model, actor, makeup artist, and multidisciplinary performer based in Vancouver, Canada. Blending fashion, movement, and character exploration, Hu’s practice explores identity, intimacy, and the spectacle. Picking up their visual experimentation, bold aesthetics, and dynamic stage presence from their earlier days of performing in Vancouver’s local drag and queer scenes they bring an unapologetic and expressive style to photography, film, and live performance. Hu has featured in multiple modeling campaigns, and performed in Egg Yolk Custard Bun (2025) which was awarded Best Performance for an Ultra-Short at the 29th Vancouver Asian Film Festival.
Rebecca Margolick is a dancer and choreographer based in Vancouver, Canada. Named one of Dance Magazine’s “Top 25 to Watch” in 2021, she has been supported through fellowships and residencies such as Ailey’s New Directions Choreography Lab, Banff Centre, and PS21 Chatham. Her commissions include new works for Oregon Ballet Theatre, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Arts Umbrella, and NW Dance Project’s MOVE. She freelances with Jason Martin, Company 605, Andrea Peña & Artists, and Charles-Alexis Desgagnés.
Simran Sachar is a dance artist, choreographer, writer, and actor based on the traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ Nations (Vancouver, Canada). Known for her fusion of contemporary and street dance, she works across film, theatre, XR, and public art. Sachar choreographs and directs work for live performance and film, and has presented projects at the Indian Summer Festival and the Surrey Art Gallery.
Accessibility
The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor of Western Front, which is accessed by a flight of 26 stairs. Please contact us at info@westernfront.ca or +1 (604) 876 9343 to arrange. Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found here.
Acknowledgements
Presented with support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.
We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.