The scenographic space of a moving costume
The exploration of the contrasts/
indoor-outdoor
journey-station
/A collaboration with the dancer Anu Laiho
This project is a series of spatial experiments in different locations, where the performing body and costume are utilized as active, dynamic, and responsive to understand the spaces in Oslo through the dance movement.
Through a period of material experimentation and workshops, a series of soft cylindrical tubes in several colors were created.
These forms were developed during the spatial experiments with Anu Laiho, as they functioned as more of a tool than a costume, and one can understand it when paralleling it with the act of drawing.
With this linear three-dimensional element, one can design a multiplicity of forms in the three-dimensional space in a dialogue with the performer. Its flexibility and variability make it possible to expand in the surroundings, extending the dancer’s body while it could become so dense that the body seems to disappear. It can interrelate with elements of nature such as trees, rivers, and soil but also become a contrast to them. It can be as specific as the dancer wishes, who can equally become the designer through the movement and experience.
november the 23rd
The first experimental attempt took place in a room of KHiO. To get familiar with the space of our work, we decided to follow a ritual of closing our eyes and introducing the space to each other as it has been perceived from both sides.
Experiment 01
I spread the piles of tubes on the floor, in the center of the space, the center of its gravity, and extend them to the sides of the room.
Before entering the space and if no one knows what will happen, the question arises if someone reads it as a costume or as an installation.
Experiment 02
I tied the tubes around Anu’s body, giving different emphasis to the various body parts. It was quite hard to attach these forms very tightly to the body since they are quite large and uncontrollable.
These elements were limiting the movement because of the effort to keep them in their original position. From a moving landscape, it became more of a body-based experience in the space. Controlled and uncontrollable.
november the 27th
The second experiment was placed in one of the outer spaces of Oslo. The experiments were performed with various shades of lighting. It was one of the first coldest days of winter when a hoar had covered the grass. We followed the same ritual: closing our eyes and sharing the perception of the surrounding area. We both described that the strongest element of the site was the sound of the waterfall, one almost had to shout to communicate, but this might have protected the place from the sound of the roadway. This space is located between a designed world and the unpredictable flow of the river presence.
Experiment 01
In the first phase, we started with an attached costume on the body. These tubes suddenly seemed very short compared to the previous time.
Anu’s body was divided into pieces, trying to follow the different tension and interact with it.
Soon this situation was reversed, and her whole body was freed from the constraints and moved with the tube that was in complete control of her.
Experiment 02
In the second part, the piles of tubes were placed as part of the landscape, in the center of the concrete platform.
The costume almost disappeared into the endless space between the river and the huge facade of the building.
Anu was merged with it, and the costume was expanding its form through her movement.
Her movement in space separated them by color, as if someone was deconstructing the form into the very basic elements.
december the 5th
The third day of experiments took place between the concrete platform of the map and the bridge, studying the journey and the narrative in contrast to the more static focus on a particular scene or object while trying to connect with the place through costume. The elevated platform appeared like a stage, with an accidental audience around, whose presence made Anu experience it more like a performance than an experiment.
Experiment 01
In the first phase, we started with an attached costume on the body. These tubes suddenly seemed very short compared to the previous time.
Anu’s body was divided into pieces, trying to follow the different tension and interact with it.
Soon this situation was reversed, and her whole body was freed from the constraints and moved with the tube that was in complete control of her.
Experiment 02
In the first phase, we started with an attached costume on the body. These tubes suddenly seemed very short compared to the previous time.
Anu’s body was divided into pieces, trying to follow the different tension and interact with it.
Soon this situation was reversed, and her whole body was freed from the constraints and moved with the tube that was in complete control of her.
