Who's Talking?
Category: Dramaturgy | Role: Dramaturg, Coordinator, Co-Curator | Venues: Kolk17 Figurentheater & Museum, Lübeck
Who's Talking?" is an extensive exhibition project that was realized during the pandemic. It was initialized and executed by the museum and theater "Kolk 17", based in the Northern German town of Lübeck. The museum has an extensive collection of puppets. For some of them, it is unclear how to play them, or there is little to no background knowledge. The idea here was to explore their provenance through artistic research. The international group of participating artists chose different approaches to face the resting exhibits. Due to the circumstances, most of the work was conceptualized as video performances to be shown online. Nevertheless, there were also a few live showings, including one that took place in Mali.
The following text has been written by me to present the project on the museum's website.
Changing perspectives of provenance
From the ‘puppet-worlds’ council of elders…to the cleaning out of colonial era storage cupboards…to the visit of a remorseful dictator. The project “Who’s Talking – Changing Perspectives of Provenance” opens the doors to an artistic exploration of the KOLK17 collection. Six artists of African, Asian and European descent turn their focus to the collection and develop their own opinion to puppets they themselves have chosen. The resulting artworks will be exhibited in a virtual exhibition. The recurring question however, is: Who is talking?
Creating knowledge without revealing secrets
The KOLK 17 collection comprises over 20,000 exhibits from Europe, Asia and Africa and thus contains many stories and secrets. The question of where individual figures travelled from and what stations they passed through until they found their way into the museum cannot be definitively answered in many cases.
If and when answers are found, what might the consequences be and for whom?
Parallel to the artistic debate, scientists are brought in to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge with their expertise. The question of the cultural context from which the various puppets originally emerged plays an essential role. Comprising of much more than just the place of origin: the nature in which the puppets were played; the stories that were told with them, as well as their function are all important aspects which, if possible should be included.
Some of the invited artists will deal with exhibits from their own countries, others will make suggestions for artistic approaches to the non-European part of the collection. The result will be six artistic contributions in video format from different perspectives – a diversity of voices that, hopefully will shine light where until now was darkness.
A knowledge that unearths secrets without revealing them.
Impressions from the shooting of the dance film “Avatar” by Irina Demina
The Act of Talking
Among the artists involved, there are different approaches as to the definition of speaking. However all concerned agree on one thing: there is more to the act of speaking than just the use of verbal language. A dance, a work of art, the movement of a marionette – these are all forms of speech.
For “Who’s talking?” these forms of speaking are significant. Just as important as the question of WHO is talking is the question of HOW. To speak verbally about a character whose story of origin is obscure is primarily speculation. Translating this speculation into artistic media such as dance or performance opens up new areas of knowledge.
To communicate artistically can mean to work organically rather than methodically. Nevertheless, each work of art represents its own truth. With luck, this will give rise to new ideas and insights – provided that the scientific side is not ignored in the process. That is why the project unites both approaches under a common theme: changing perspectives of provenance.
WHO is talking?
There are countless ways to make art speak: some artists worked conceptually, others intuitively; some attached importance to a political message, while others communicated through poetry. In “Who’s talking?”, two choreographers, a performance artist and three puppeteers represent different approaches: Çağlar Yiğitoğulları, Shasha Li, Jessica Nupen, Momo Ekissi, Irina Demina, Yacouba Magassouba.
Not only artistic voices had their say in “Who’s Talking?”. Several scientists also enriched the project with their perspective. Their expertise complements the artist’s knowledge and manifests itself with the help of various materials and their specific mode of application. The international contributions participated in a symposium on the opening weekend, making possible an engaging dialogue between the camps of the artistic and the scientific. Among these were the invited scholars René*e Reith and Robin Ruizendaal.
Shadow play with the character “Hanoman” during the filming of the dance film “Avatar” by Irina Demina
Credits:
Idee
Dr. Antonia Napp, Stephan Schlafke, Sonja Riehn
Konzept & Projektleitung
Dr. Antonia Napp, Stephan Schlafke
Wissenschaftliche Arbeit
Sonja Riehn
Künstlerische Arbeit
Markus Posse
Künstler:innen (alphabetische Reihenfolge)
Irina Demina, Momo Ekissi, Shasha Li, Yacouba Magassouba, Jessica Nupen, Çağlar Yiğitoğulları
Wissenschaftler:innen
Robin Ruizendaal, René*e Reith
Moderatoren (Symposium)
Caroline Chia, Mandy Okereke
Projektkoordination
Markus Posse, Sonja Riehn
Ansprechperson Sammlung
Sonja Riehn
Ansprechperson Theater
Stephan Schlafke
Marketing & Website
Charlotta Becker
Controlling
Marie-Louise Arndt
Übersetzungen
Franziska Technau, Astrid Franck, Weimin Kong, Mandy Okereke, Zhao Wei
Depot Assistenz
Ulrike Sonnenberg, Christine Kebel
Mounting
Stephan Schlafke, Kilian Kreuzinger
Ausstellung
Idee & Konzept
Dr. Antonia Napp, Markus Posse in Kooperation mit Irina Demina, Momo Ekissi, Shasha Li, Yacouba Magassouba, Jessica Nupen, Çağlar Yiğitoğulları
Dramaturgie
Markus Posse
Visuelle Gestaltung & Ausstellungswebsite
visual intelligence Berlin, neesh Hamburg
Marketing/ grafisches Design
Charlotta Becker, Anna Pfau
Symposium
Idee & Konzept
Dr. Antonia Napp, Sonja Riehn
Koordination
Sonja Riehn
Technische Umsetzung
Ricarda Motschilnig, David Röthler
Marketing & Website
Charlotta Becker
Interpretation
Ostasien Service GmbH Hamburg, Bohmann Übersetzungen
