A pause is what Jordanian artist Anas Nahleh needed in the midst of all the current uncertainties. A moment to wonder about normality, to imagine things “returning to normal,” and explore what will a “new normal” look like.
At the same time German artist Stephanie Müller had the desire to keep on questioning the concept of “normailty”. Who has the priviledge to define what is normal? What if we would challenge the borders of our so-called “normalities”?
A blank white A4 sheet is the first “object “Anas started to experiment with, a material that brings open space for imagination, and that is also easily accessible and understandable by many people.
Anas created a choreography in a world made of paper. Wearing completely white, Anas is not only a moving body, but also a part of the paper world and becomes an open screen.
Just like Anas, Stephanie loves to create a world of imagination. Nonetheless, she also has to do daily business work such as declaring the taxes. A tax document is neither romantic nor poetic. It reduces one's life to a fixed framework, to just a few numbers.
By recycling these documents, Stephanie was able to create blank sheets with open space for something inexplicable: a costume that looks like an unnamed creature from another world.
During the live performance Stephanie used her costume as main instrument for creating a paper soundtrack for Anas' choreography.
Paper, a universal object used in politics, art and culture, education, healthcare, economy and border control, transformed to a daring body who leaves its own format and becomes a blank projection screen open for the poetry of the unwritten.
I am Anas Nahleh. I am a self-taught multi-disciplinary performer, choreographer. I started break-dance when I was 14 years old with my brother Abd. Like many other selves- taught street artists, we started to practice dance on the street of Amman without any training, guidance and support. After more than 10 years of practice and advocating for dance development in the country, we co-founded a platform called Studio 8 for aspiring young people to showcase their potential, and the need for opportunities which provide inclusive creative projects that are crucial for allowing the dance to thrive and survive in Jordan.
Stephanie Müller aka Rag Treasure is based at the MEDIENDIENST LEISTUNGSHÖLLE in Munich (Germany). She is a visual artist and sociological researcher with a special focus on collaborative strategies in the fields of textile art, performance, video art and music. She has been playing different kinds of amplified sewing machines, everyday life's objects and selfmade instruments since 2002. When the lockdown started in March 2020 she was staying at the Antonie- Leins-Künstler*innenhaus, an artist residency in Horb am Neckar. At the moment she still has the chance to stay there and to work on „ZigZag Steps * Beyond Dance and Sound“, an art collaboration with her fellow artist.