THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT

THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT Nazaridou Olympia

This is an experiment, 2,5 * 1 m, white kraft paper, permanent marker, tempera

THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT

The present work is a performance and is a first attempt to combine three artistic means of expression. Visual arts, dance and creative writing in the form of journaling.

One goal of the project is to address the risk of exposure, as its basis is a personal text. The second goal is the attempt to "translate" the text, first into movement and finally into a visual result. But at the same time, the same process wants to comment on the difficulty of doing this, as dance and color come to distract from the text and eventually cover it up. In this way the process was divided into three steps: 1. Record the text 2. "Translation" of the text into choreography 3. "Translation" of the choreography into a painting leaving a trace of color

THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT

1.

The text that is usually written in the sketchbook and remains closed and hidden, is placed for the first time on a large canvas on the floor and can now be compared to the objects in the space that surround it.

The canvas has taken on the dimensions of the carpet in my room. This spatial limit also existed in the production process of the project. This limit, which I face every day, is the only place where it is really possible to express myself, as mentioned in the text, the 2.5*3 (m.) room.

Therefore, we can approach the canvas as an extension of the sketchbook and the room, which come to pick up the thoughts and feelings of their owner.

THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT

2.

After recording the text, the next step was to interact with it through improvisation. This process was recorded and then turned into choreography. The aim of the improvisation was to find all the points, which the spatiality of the text turned into visual interests, as well as all the games that could occur due to the geometries, length, size and gaps of the words or even the absence of them in some places. Thus, the words turned into rhythm and determined by themselves the type and speed of the movements. Therefore, no particular emphasis was placed on making the choreography look like something we would see in a dance performance.

The aim was to highlight the "translation" of the text, from words to movement.

THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT

3.

Then followed the placement of color on the canvas, in the points of interest that had been observed during the process, to ensure that by performing the choreography, it would leave its mark on the paper.

So, the last step was the performance of the choreography on the text, thus leaving its mark. With this final element the partial overlap of the text is achieved, showing that there is still a need to hide and leave questions to whoever sees/reads it after its completion.

The choreography was not made on the music. It is a piece by Chopin and its sole purpose is to accompany the emotional state from the beginning of the piece to its final performance. Also, the predominant dance style is contemporary, as I simply felt it was more suitable and this is also an experiment for me.

THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT

This work was presented as part of the “Pure Identities festival - The joy of authenticity“, organised by the non-profit organisation IncontACT , within the framework of actions aimed at eliminating discrimination and social stereotypes, held in Thessaloniki on 28-31/03/2024.

“Pure Identities festival “ website: https://incontactorg.eu/pure-identities-festival-2024/ IncontACT on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/incontact_gr?igsh=MTM4ZzVzYzhhc2RtYQ==