Artists

The creator of The Häxan Curse, Giosuè Prochilo, wears many hats, currently working as a visual artist, designer, musician and teacher. Completing post-graduate studies in Visual Communication, he worked for some years as a graphic designer in Melbourne’s design industry before evolving into a tertiary lecturer and tutor at Monash University’s esteemed Art, Design & Architecture faculty. Amongst teaching, he balances his passion for creating music and art with running a brand identity business, Metafork, where he works as chief creative, producing communication design, illustration, web design, multimedia, video, narratives, audio branding and sound design.

His work as an emerging electronic music producer has seen him dabble in sounds for brands, special occasions, dance floors and outdoor environments. The Häxan Curse represents his first major music work for film, where he has composed and will perform a live electronic & analogue score for the 2012 Melbourne Fringe Festival show. Influenced by musical genres as disparate as ambient, progressive rock, minimal techno, classical and Mongolian folk, the music of The Häxan Curse promises to be a unique sonic exploration. His love of language and storytelling has also found shape in the radical new film script appearing as new subtitles in the recut (and almost unrecognisable) version of the original silent Häxan film. Here, the new storyline injects elements of black humour—at times absurdist—but always carefully draws sharp social commentary, exploring themes of morality, gender equality, mind control and kebab ethics. Yes, the ethics of the kebab.

Co-performer and musical contributor Christian Prochilo is currently completing a Masters in Music at Melbourne University, and also writes and performs in new and upcoming rock band Stringfellow Hawke. A highly skilled multi-instrumentalist, Christian is especially apt on bass and guitar and is noted for technical playing and composition, which will feature in the near future on Stringfellow Hawke’s debut EP which is presently in writing phase. He will perform for the full duration of The Häxan Curse premiere season during the 2012 Melbourne Fringe.

Frank Rettore is an enigmatic performance artist and occasional actor, seen briefly in Melbourne’s own Underbelly series, who will dramatically introduce The Häxan Curse as the dark otherworldly messenger known only as Ikhernofret. He represents the guide, the judge and the keeper of clocks, having been cleansed of eyes (now all-seeing) and cleansed of mind (now all-knowing).