Iris ter Schiphorst

DAS IMAGINÄRE NACH LACAN (2017)

for the WP at Wien modern 2017, motto: Images in the mind

The work acts as a foil for our perception; in this 'experimental arrangement', soloist Salome Kammer embodies a woman in two roles: an Arab and a European. In the course of the piece, she switches back and forth between these two roles. Through partly literal repetitions of musical material – but 'embodied' in different roles – our perception comes into focus. Will the audience interpret the same musical statement differently depending on whether they perceive a familiar or unfamiliar figure? And if so, how? How do the images in our minds arise? Don't we always see as if through a veil and form our own picture?

Helga Utz's text is based on poetry from the Arab world, primarily from the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods. Among the ancient Bedouin tribes, poets, and especially female poets, were held in high esteem, and many works reflecting a high level of sophistication have been preserved over the centuries. Famous female poets included Al Khansa from the 6th century, Rabia from Basra and Rabia-i Quzdari from the 10th century, and Shada Bint Ahmed ad-Dinoria, who died in 1178. Their works always describe a world in turmoil, which can only be meaningfully addressed with uncompromising humanism.

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