With an ever-accelerating idea of progression, it’s easy to forget the importance of present: as we push forward in a celebration of speed and evolution, so do rapidly evolving-mediums celebrate the creative possibilities opened up to us as individuals by these forward movements. Keeping a close watch on these changes, creative industries have always been at the forefront of crystallising these possibilities. With emerging forms of practices and performances, art brings the now into existence, presenting unparalleled experiences of time, bodies and reality.
Capturing the very fabric of the now, Mercedes-Benz is exploring the configuration of technology and time with its plug-in hybrid models. Far from being a futuristic idea of potential, the hybrid Mercedes-Benz vehicles represent the best e-mobility technology – a reality that is intrinsic to the present. Much more than an intangible reality, Mercedes-Benz is expanding concrete possibilities beyond electric vehicles. Creating a veritable ecosystem around electric mobility, EQ – which stands for ‘Electric Intelligence’ – combines services, product design and innovation to cover all key aspects of customer-focused technology. EQ offers everthing from wallboxes and charging services, to home energy storage units. Emotion and Intelligence, the core values of Mercedes-Benz, come to life in EQ.
To celebrate the now, Mercedes-Benz created a 12-hour live film that explored the ways in which embodied presence can inform and reform time. Enticing viewers to experience the now, the changes over the course of the film came together to build a unique moment in time. As part of the film, Mercedes-Benz teamed up with award-winning choreographer Darren Johnston, bringing together film, dance, art and music. Translated through movement and light, the performance combined elements of the circadian rhythm with real-life practices that echoed the physiological transitions of the body through time.
Documenting the whole process through multiple live cameras, the world’s first live commercial was an ever-evolving performance that was streamed on Youtube. Spectators joined in over the 12 hours to experience the fabric of now, witnessing various moments in time that blended seamlessly into one another over the course of the time frame. As a composer layered, re-arranged and produced the soundtrack live from the studio, close collaborators of Bonobo, Jon Hopkins, Heritage Orchestra, Roni Size and Andreya Triana improvised performances, providing the impulse to an embodied performance that invited viewers to live the now. Mercedes-Benz merged past and future, as they colluded to produce one creative moment. One that continues to be lived and experienced by you.
Watch the recap of the film here.
