Renowned choreographer Teoma Naccarato and composer John MacCallum will captivate audiences with the premiere of their latest artistic collaboration, “III: Once Replete”. The three-day exhibition, which will take place at SomoS from 1 to 3 June 2023, will showcase a remarkable fusion of performance art, video art and sound installation in the third part of their “III” series.
Image above: III 02 by Naccarato Mac Callum Photo Gianmarco Bresadola PR
At the heart of the exhibition is a mesmerising 6-hour durational performance embedded in a captivating video and sound installation. Two performers lie under a plaster cast, their bodies serving as a screen for the projected images of a dissected heart. The image changes from a bright red to a haunting black, symbolising decay and vitality. While the virtual heart remains silent, the real-time heartbeat of the performers echoes throughout the space, synchronised to the music and pulsing through the surrounding walls. This captivating fusion of live and digital elements explores the intricate interplay of past and present bodies intertwining different shapes and forms.
III: A trilogy of works on the materiality and musicality of the heart
“III: Once Replete” is the culmination of a trilogy of installation-based performances by Teoma Naccarato and John MacCallum. The previous works, “III: Once Removed” (2020) and “III: Once Returned” (2022), explored the materiality and musicality of the heart. By integrating the heart as both art object and performer, the artists explored the inherent disconnect between physical source and artistic representation. The manipulation of time through digital media led to further investigations into the negotiation between human and machine temporality.
In “III: Once Returned”, the artists embarked on a remarkable 72-hour performance, the sequence of which was dictated by a metronome while they were constantly observed by a 12-camera surveillance system. The temporality of their bodies and selves went through a relentless six-hour cycle of choreography, never really returning to their initial state. Accompanying the relentless performance was a disintegrating heart, severed from its physical form to illustrate the impossibility of a full return.
III: Once Replete” baut auf ihren früheren Arbeiten auf und integriert übereinander liegende Materialien und Erinnerungen an die vorangegangenen Performances. Die 72 Stunden Filmmaterial, die von zwölf Kameras gleichzeitig aufgenommen wurden, werden zu einer fesselnden Videoinstallation zusammengesetzt. Diese Bilder werden dann auf die Körper der Künstler zurückprojiziert und hüllen sie in eine greifbare Verschmelzung von vergangenen Erfahrungen und gegenwärtiger Existenz ein. Nach der sechsstündigen Performance verbleibt der Gipsabdruck als eindrucksvolle Projektionsfläche und repräsentiert die gleichzeitige An- und Abwesenheit der lebenden Körper, die nun vollständig in der Installation verkörpert sind.
“III: Once Replete” is an immersive artistic experience that explores the boundaries of creativity, combining performance, video art and sound installation. Audiences will have the opportunity to engage with this thought-provoking exhibition for two days, exploring the gallery installation and interacting with the artists themselves. Don’t miss the opportunity to witness the culmination of a remarkable trilogy and immerse yourself in the profound exploration of the materiality and musicality of the heart.
Supported by the NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK – STEPPING OUT, funded by the Minister of State for Culture and Media as part of the NEUSTART KULTUR initiative, support programme for dance.
About the artists
Created & performed by: Teoma Naccarato & John MacCallum
Video editing and projection design: Teoma Naccarato
Music and audio/haptic installation: John MacCallum
Multi-channel camera set-up and software: John MacCallum
Camera work and video collaboration: Guillaume Cailleau
Teoma Naccarato and John MacCallum have been working together since they met in 2013. Their collaborative work draws on their backgrounds in choreography, music composition, computer science and creative writing, as well as their deep interest in performance art and philosophy. Each hybrid performance installation they create is a microcosm: a place where they question the ongoing mediation of bodies and identities in techno cultures. By appropriating surveillance and biomedical technologies, their artistic work engages with the computational and conceptual machinery of representation. Her work, which encompasses a wide range of formats including live, livestream, durational and 1-1 performance, has been presented in theatres, galleries and international film festivals.
Recent projects include: III: Once Returned (2022), a 72-hour durational performance live-streamed around the clock from a series of 12 surveillance cameras; Im/mediations: 9x9x9 (2022), a series of 9 portraits from 9 angles in extreme close-up, illuminating movement in stillness; and Im/mediations: REMAINS (2021), a livestream/dance film set within the virtual architecture of multiple cameras looking down on the performer from above. Teoma did his PhD at Coventry University’s Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE), and. John did his PhD in music composition at UC Berkeley. They currently live in Berlin with their cat.
Guillaume Cailleau lives and works as an artist in Berlin and locates himself artistically at the intersection of film installation, performance and sound art, which he likes to combine in expansive installations. Cailleau studied at the Berlin University of the Arts.
WHERE?
SomoS Arts
Kottbusser Damm 95, 1.0G
10967 Berlin-Kreuzberg
WHEN?
LIVE PERFORMANCE & INSTALLATION: THURSDAY, 1. JUNE from 16:00 – 22:00.
Join SomoS Arts for the premiere of III: Once Replete, a 6-hour performance installation. Come anytime between 16:00 and 22:00 and stay as long as you like. Admission is free and open to all.
VIDEO AND SOUND INSTALLATION: FRIDAY, 2. JUNE & SATURDAY, 3. JUNE, 14:00 – 19:00
After the live performance, the video and sound installation and a collection of prints will be on display at SomoS Arts. The artists will be present during these times to meet visitors.
