The immersive, hour-long performance of percussion music and responsive light-box art that is “Below the Surface” combines the creativity of Farida Hughes and Matt Keown. Their signature project represents the true spirit of collaboration as the two artists bring their respective disciplines together to create a dialogue between art and music. Sixteen perforated paper drawings made by Hughes on a lava field in Hawai’i show visible tracings of the paths of arrested volcanic activity. Situated in two long rows of custom-crafted light-boxes, the drawings pulse and fade between black and white and underlit vibrant colors as the performance proceeds. Keown’s music is scored for three specific instrumental arrangements consisting of found objects and various scrapers, marimba, and graduated drums. As the light-boxes dance, Keown’s intricate playing teases, echoes, and explodes, telling a story of creation, erosion and new possibility. Together, the artists create a live experience greater than the sum of the parts. They suggest that the boldness to act on creative impulse is necessary and reinvigorating in our post-pandemic world. Inspired by the unknowable power of creative volcanic activity, Hughes’ abstract art, animated by illumination, and Keown’s multi-movement percussion solo together present a multimedia experience reflecting on the ideas of nature, artistic invention, and collaboration.