bo d y en vi ron me nt

Neu Start Kultur
#takeheart / Rechercheförderung
Fond Darstellende Künste 2022

This research began as an investigation and experimentation with the body in different environments, focusing on touch to come-closer, and using non-visual ways of implementing these as a way to de-prioritize and de-hierarchize the visible. I explored body-based and somatic approaches regarding how the body relates to its nearest environment, recorded the sounds of these experiences, and finally, explored these in performance settings. Emerging towards the end of the research, I began to focus on the voice, exploring language as a conceptual, knowledge-based, and visible filter, as well as what could arise through the use of breath, vocal cords, and the cavities and capacities of the (moving) body. The voice leaving my body determined the environment around me; resonating against architecture and other bodies, it also extended beyond walls. I used materials found in natural environments as instruments inside a performance space, as well as explored the voice as an expression of multisensory listening. In collaboration with other artists, I created in-the-moment compositions with collected materials brought into the performance space. The voice opened up another kind of bo dy en vi ron me nt which I hadn’t expected and which changed everything. I now have many options available to me, including a vocal practice and skills and knowledge in sound-making and -creating. I am strengthened by the knowledge that listening requires time, space, attention, nonjudgement, a suspension of knowledge and the presence of bodies, and that it is essential for becoming aware of the micromovements in and around us and for instigating even the smallest moments of change.

https://soundcloud.com/emily-welther