Knotting Connections – a participatory material-specific transformation process.
Costume is an ephemeral art form that are strongly rooted in the present moment. One can argue that costumes’ functionality, connections, and meaning is lost and ends when the life of the performance is over. At the same time one can also argue that there hidden in the materialities are traces of the performers performing in specific costume including traces of the people that created the costumes. But what happens when the performance is no longer in repertoire and thus when the costumes’ journey has ended?
Knotting Connections is an ambition to offer specific costumes’ materialites new life. A life that tributes the costumes’ former life and the connections, that they created (to people and places) – a new life where new connections and new meaning of the materialities (of the costumes) is crated in a community of people.
In Knotting Connections, I invite the audience to participate in a material-specific (eco-circular) transformation process where costumes (those that for years has been stored) from four Kitt Johnson/X-act performances Stafet (2017), Forum Humanum (2013), Det Magiske Lydcirkus (2011) and Palimpsest (2006)will be crafted together in new ways. Through a co-creational crafting process, we collaboratively give the costumes’ materialities a new life – we transform the materialities into a social sculpture. In the process, we hopefully create connections between us, the materialities and the place (Gylleboverket).
First version of Knotting Connections took place during the performance festival at Gylleboverket, Sweden, August 4–5, 2023
Material credits below: Credits from the four Kitt Johnson/X-act performances including names of the performers that wore the costumes in the performance – costume materialities that will be transformed and co-knotted into something new – a social sculpture.
Knotting Connections – en materialespecifik transformationsproces.
Kostume er en flygtig kunstform, der ofte er forankret i nuet. Man kan postulere, at kostume og kostumer mister deres funktionalitet, betydning og forbindelser, når forestillingerne (de indgår i) er afsluttet. Samtidig kan man argumentere for, at materialiteten gemmer på spor af den performer, der har optrådt i det specifikke kostume og spor af de mennesker, der skabte kostumerne. Men hvad sker der egentlig, når en forestilling ikke længere er i repertoire – er der afslutningen på kostumernes liv og rejse?
Med Knotting Connections ønsker jeg –en kostumedesigner/forsker– at give specifikke kostumer et nyt liv. Et liv som dels hylder kostumernes tidligere liv og de forbindelser, de skabte (til mennesker og steder) – et liv der desuden bringer kostumernes materialer i spil på måder, der skaber nye forbindelser og nye betydninger.
I Knotting Connections inviterer jeg publikum at deltage i en materialespecifik (øko-cirkulær) transformationsproces, hvor kostumer (dem der i årevis er blevet gemt og opbevaret) fra fire Kitt Johnson/X-act forestillinger Stafet (2017), Forum Humanum (2013), Det Magiske Lydcirkus (2011) og Palimpsest (2006)knyttes sammen på nye måder. Gennem en kreativ samskabende proces giver vi i fællesskab materialerne et nyt liv. I processen skaber vi forhåbentlig ny overraskende forbindelser mellem os (deltagerne), materialerne og stedet (Gylleboverket).
Performance (material) credits:
Stafet (2017), ensembleforestilling. Dansehallerne, København, DK.
Idé og instruktion: Kitt Johnson. Lyd: Sture Ericson. Lys: Mogens Kjempff. Kostumer/rekvisitter: Charlotte Østergaard. Medskabende performere: Dorothea Eitel, Kyrie Oda, Gabi Dissmann, Florent Golfier, Marek Mensik, Julienne Doko, Hilde I. Sandvold, Poul Helmer Laursen, Jan Vesala. Foto: Per Morten Abrahamsen
Forum Humanum (2013), ensemble forestilling. Dansehallerne, København, DK.
Koreograf/iscenesætter: Kitt Johnson. Komponist/musiker: Sture Ericson. Lysdesigner: Mogens Kjempff. Kostumedesigner: Charlotte Østergaard. Koreograf assistent: Alexandre Bourdat. Medskabende performere: Andreas Constantinou, Antoinette Helbing, César García, Carina Raffel, Emma-Cecilie Ajanki, Felipe Salazar, Jan Vesala, Jean-Hughes Miredin, Marek Magierecki, Mette Aakjær, Sonja Øien Salkowitch, Troels Hagen Findsen, Angela Herenda de Kroo. Performere/statister: Allan Hansen, Anna Eskelund, Anne Sofie Hoffmann Schrøder, Birgitte Skands, Birk Hors, Carlos Romao, Carmel, Ennis Christian Sprange, Erik Antonsen, Grazia Weis, Levi Jannick, Kirk Sørensen, Jens Elvekjær Klæbel, Johanna, Malene Geiger, John Voxfort, Kirsten Hald, Kirstine Marie Fabricius, Kaare P Johannesen, Lars Christian, Feit Andersen, Lea Vendelbo Petersen, Lise Aagaard Knudsen, Louise Jørgensen, Louise Lund Gade, Mai Thorn Marianne Kirk, Mette Aalund Olsen, Mie-Miriam Kongstad, Otto Kietz, Peter Hunter, Samuel Frederik Iwersen, Shahbaz Sarwar, Shuli Nordbek Azoulay, Sofia Rose, Eberl Smed Stefan, Dolezal Thomas Sørensen. Foto: Per Morten Abrahamsen
Det Magiske Lyscirkus (2011), børneforestilling. Premiere på Festival for Børn og Unge, Randers, DK.
Artist/performer Samuel Gustavsson. Komponist/live musiker Sture Ericson. Iscenesættelse Samuel Gustavsson og Sture Ericson. Kunstnerisk konsulent Kitt Johnson. Lysdesigner Mogens Kjempff. Kostume indfarvning: Charlotte Østergaard. Foto: Per Morten Abrahamsen
Palimpsest (2006), ensemble forestilling. Kaleodiskop K2, København, DK.
Idé, iscenesættelse og koreografi: Kitt Johnson. Medskabende dansere: Alexandre Bourdat, João Lobo, Milos Sofrenovic, Otto Ramstad og Samuel Gustavsson. Komponist: Sture Ericson. Lysdesign: Mogens Kjempff. Kostumedesign: Charlotte Østergaard. Foto: Per Morten Abrahamsen