A pause is what Jordanian artist Anas Nahleh needed in the midst of all the current uncertainties. A moment to wonder about the concept of normality, to imagine things “returning to normal,” and explore what a “new normal” would look like.
At the same time German artist Stephanie Müller also 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's choreography.
Paper, a universal object used in politics, art, culture, education, healthcare, economy and border control, is being transformed into a daring body that leaves its own format and becomes a blank projection screen open for the poetry of the unwritten.
For more details about the project please visit: https://cocreatewithstudio8.wordpress.com/
