6pm | Doors Open

7pm | Show Starts

Longing and Belonging, this month’s installment of the AV Live Performance series at the Art Gallery of Ontario, unfolds as an inquiry into the fragile terrain of human connection in the digital age. Immersed in the glow of devices and the rhythms of algorithmic attention, the work questions whether our technologies of communication generate intimacy or dissolve it into data — and whether we are also using technology as a form of escapism, a way to hide rather than be open and vulnerable. As Byung-Chul Han writes in The Agony of Eros, “Where everything turns into the same, there is no longer any relation — only a smooth, narcissistic reflection of the self.” Through a sensory interplay of sound and image, artists Felipe Requena and Hagop Ohannessian (visuals) collaborate with Dennis Neves, Demian Ortiz, and Felipe (audio) to compose a live audiovisual environment that drifts between desire and disconnection — a poetic meditation on what it means to long, to belong, and to be seen in a networked world. 

Hagop Ohannessian is a Toronto-based multi-media artist working with live performance, generative visuals, and immersive audio environments. His practice blends electronic soundscapes with algorithmic imagery to create transformative, sensory experiences. As Manager of the AV Department at the Art Gallery of Ontario, he has collaborated with artists and curators on projects that merge technology, performance, and installation. Through his AV Live series and other creative explorations, Ohannessian bridges technical precision with artistic experimentation, inviting audiences into dynamic encounters with sound and image.