Haagse Slag
Haagse Slag is a site-specific work performed at the Proximity Music festival, presented by iiii and Rewire. The work is part of the Architectural Embodiment series.
Buildings are designed from both a functional and aesthetic standpoint. The length of a pillar and the material of a wall are carefully chosen. From his positioning, use and relation to a city or landscape an object gets it’s distinctiveness. I can use the object but this often makes me feel as a spectator. As a spectator I feel passive: I have no influence on the existence of a building or bridge. I have developed a way to come in contact with buildings; a technique to play an object and its environment.
I have made a modular instrument that makes me play existing architectural structures. A set of hangers that can be clamped to the construction. These hangers have hammers attached that strike different surfaces of the construction i.e. a pillar or a large plate. A strike will result in sounds and vibrations. The sound and vibration are decided by the structural decisions of the architect and his team. A view into the character behind the collection of functional and ecstatic properties that form the construction, the personality of the object.
Around my waist I wear a belt with ropes attached to clappers. During a performance I play the clappers similar to how one would play a carillon. In this way I create an intervention in public space that is about movement, feeling, playfulness and interaction. The work is an expression of sensitivity, a delicate dialogue from a conscious, active state of mind.
Credits:
Images 1-3 : Pieter Kers | beeld.nu
Image 4: Caitlin Sara Watson
Video teaser: Tanja Buskin
This performance has been made possible with the support of Stroom Den Haag