CAPTURES explores the possibilities of inter-action and inspiration between photography and dance, where photography should be not only a documentation tool but also a dynamic instrument for creation.

In particular, we started to investigate how the body in motion can interact directly with a specific location with its historical, architectural and popular characteristics, bringing therefore the artistic act into public spaces and observing how the movement linked to the genius loci – the spirit of the place – can underline, emphasize, draw and give voice to whatever lies beyond what we see when we simply walk as inhabitants.

We discovered more and more layers of significance in our quest to set a fluent dialogue between the movement and the genius loci (the spirit of the place) finding a particular and original way of recording it through the stop-motion tool.

We discovered that the quality of movement is deeply influenced by the specificity of each architectural setting, and we selected 2 specific movement qualities that alone could inter-act with the places in a rich and meaningful way, giving space to multiple interpretation.

We called them:

- the STAIN / der FLECK (where we use a long tube that transforms the body into a long trail of movement) - the painter of surfaces (see this video)

- the KNOT OF LIMBS / KÖRPERKNOTEN (where the body proceeds by tying itself and knotting with the context) - the weaver - knitting the body into the urban texture (see this video)

 

This project was intended as a research, with no specific idea concerning its outcome. Still, we wanted the creative process, the performative ephemeral act and its documentation to be equally important in the artistic product/result/output.

Beside a wide variety of visual documentation, we set up an experimental methodology for creating ephemeral performative interventions integrating specific tasks developed over time and based on practice as well as leaving room for intuitive and spontaneous inter-actions with each time-space context.

This gives two kinds of outputs: an ephemeral performing act that exists in the moment as a specific action and a visual documentation that makes that very act resonate through time, acquiring new meaning.

 

The material we archived for this project includes:

- historical research on each specific location

- photographic records

- audio-visual stop-motion video files

- written analysis for each intervention

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All Photos by © Paola Evelina

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Project funded by Dis-Tanzen-Solo - Guests of TANZTENDENZ München

Supported by the NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK - STEPPING OUT, funded by the Minister of State for Culture and Media within the framework of the initiative NEUSTART KULTUR. Assistance Program for Dance.

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