MASH was founded in 1991 by EAM composer Magnus Alexanderson and visual artist Sachiko Hayashi. Since its inception, MASH has focused on exploring the subtle as well as dynamic interplay between audio and visual elements, resulting in experimentation across multiple media formats, including multimedia performances, single-channel videos, and interactive audio-visual performances.
MASH’s Creative Trajectory (1991-early 2000s)
MASH’s first project, FU (風/The Wind), was an EAM music piece combined with an installation. Created between 1991 and 1992, it additionally featured collaborations with a Butoh dancer, a modern dancer, and a violinist at various stages of development. The project toured extensively throughout Sweden, with performances in seven cities, including notable venues like Folkens Museum in Stockholm and Uppsala Museum of Art.
Following FU (風), MASH shifted focus to single-channel videos, showcasing works at prestigious international festivals and venues such as the Not Still Art Festival (New York), the European Media Art Festival (Osnabrück, Germany), Transmediale (Berlin), the Boston CyberArt Festival (Massachusetts, USA), and the Radiator New Media Art Festival (Nottingham, UK). One of these works, Stretched in Dark, part of a MASH video trilogy, was commissioned by the National Council of Concerts in Sweden. The trilogy later embarked on a national tour, screening in eight cities across Sweden from 2000 to 2001.
The music for MASH’s debut project, FU (風), and Stretched in Dark, a composition for one of their video works, are featured on the audio CD Stretched in the Dark. This compilation of Magnus Alexanderson’s EAM works was released by Elektron in 2006.
Since 2008, MASH has continued to push the boundaries of interdisciplinary art, by exploring interactive audio-visual performances and redefining the possibilities of collaborative creativity.
MAGNUS
Magnus Alexanderson is an EAM composer and experimental guitarist, with education in Electro-Acoustic Music at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. He is also an experimental guitarist whose practice include collaboration in various improvisational music groups.
about Magnus Alexanderson
He studied Electro-Acoustic Music Composition under the guidance of Lars-Gunnar Bodin, Rolf Enström and Tamas Unguary at Electronic Music Studio in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm between 1980 -1983 and in addition received private tutorials in instrumental composition with composers Lars Sandberg and Mikros Maros.
His electro-acoustic music compositions have been performed at various venues throughout Sweden. In 2001 he was commissioned by the University of Linköping, the City of Norrköping and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to compose for the opening event of EU Commissioner meeting in Sweden. He has been a guest lecturer on EAM at the University of Linköping between 1992 and 1996, and for the period of 2009-2019 he was a lecturer/educator of Sound Culture at the same university.
He is also an experimental guitarist with contribution in various improvisational groups. His collaborators include Geoff Leigh, Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, Tony Bianco, and Gary Smith. The first CD of Decision Dream (with Jair-Rohm Parker Wells and Tony Bianco) was released by Canadian label Red Toucan in 2005, receiving international critical acclaim.
In 2021, he participated in the group Fontana Re:Mix, contributing to the release of Traces of Time. In 2025, two new releases are planned with the groups Instant Circuit and Fontana Re:Mix.
SACHIKO
Sachiko Hayashi is a visual artist specialising in video and screen-based interactive media. After completing her studies in Computer Arts at the Royal Institute of Arts in Stockholm, her practice has focused on the intersection between contemporary visual art and new media.
about Sachiko Hayashi
Originally from Tokyo, she holds a BA in International and Cultural Studies from Tsuda College, Tokyo, and a MA with Merit in Digital Media from Coventry School of Art & Design, Coventry University, UK. Sachiko also completed two years of postgraduate studies in Computer Arts at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, with one of those years as a special student under the guidance of renowned Swedish painter Max Book.
Her works have been shown internationally at many video and new media festivals and exhibitions, including such venues as Symphony Space, New York, Saitama Museum of Modern Art, Japan, and the National Museum of Science and Technology, Stockholm. One of her video works Boop-Oop-A-Doop has been included on DVD Personas and Personalities by Aspect Magazine, Boston, 2006, and in ETC: Experimental Television Center 1969-2009 by the Experimental Television Center in New York, 2010.
Besides her video works, she has gained recognition for her net art and contributions to related communities. Examples include the foundation and international launch of the DIAN network, her role as editor of the online journal Hz, and her work as the founder and curator of Hz Net Gallery. Additionally, she is noted for her commitment to Second Life, where she curated the Virtual Art Residency Yoshikaze, exploring the intersection of virtual and digital art practices.
In recent years, Hayashi has focused on gesture-controlled interactivity, leading to the development of audio-visual performances. More recently, her practice has expanded to include art created with generative artificial intelligence.
