Talk with panelists Chris Gylee and Aslan, Once We Were Islands, moderated by Mikaela Mäkela, the Finnish Institute in Germany.
KARELIA is a project by performance collective ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS imagining Queer lives beyond the city and exploring how love can thrive in quiet places. During their residency in Karelia this summer, artists Chris and Aslan found inspiration within the territory of romantic legends — as well as the lonely reality of the forest itself. There, in the Finnish countryside, they asked themselves: What are we fleeing from? What are we running to?
During the evening, we will discuss Chris and Aslan’s experiences during the residency, how their performance and film projects developed during the time spent there, and what kinds of personal insights the artists gained from spending time in Finland as part of their working process. We will explore the possibilities of staying Queer when you are alone in the woods, and what a new life close to the land would mean for the performers.
ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS work in the fertile ground between disciplines, combining visual art, performance, choreographic methodologies, and research. The two artists, originally from Manchester and London, employ (auto)biographical narrative as well as meticulous research on the realities of Queer lives in their poetic works. For KARELIA, comprising of a live performance and 30-minute film, they journeyed through time to three different worlds: Setting out from their house in the forest, the performers travelled back to the time of the witch trials, and finally flew into a sci-fi future beyond the stars.
Prior registration: info@finstitut.de – please send us a short email to let us know that you will participate in the event including your contact details, and mention the event “Karelia Talk” in the subject field.
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See also:
07-10 Oct. 2021 – KARELIA (Femmes of the Forest) Premiere — Performance
with light by Elliott Cennetoglu, sound by Mars Dietz
Ballhaus Ost, Berin
07-21 Oct. 2021 – KARELIA (Alone Among The Trees) Premiere — Film
with original soundtrack by Elie Gregory
Online at www.ballhausost.de