photos: Christian Clarke/Folkwang University of the Arts
This performance explores the spiritual and symbolic transformation of soil—traditionally seen as both fertile and impure—through the lens of ritual, repetition, and sensory experience. Drawing on mystical Jewish symbolism and the industrial history of Germany’s Ruhrgebiet, it reflects on how post-industrial landscapes like the Halden (man-made mining hills) evolve from waste into sanctuaries. Through repeated song, sensory elements like disco lights and smells, and symbolic gestures (like bending glittering metal rods), the performance reimagines discarded matter as sites of reverence. A karaoke video with microscopic images of toxic mine water, dirt and excrement allows a radical change of perspective and reveals the beauty in the repulsive. It suggests that even the abject holds the potential to become sacred, depending on how we choose to see it.
This performance was shown as part of the group show "Restless Sanctuaries"
Location: SANAA Building
Duration: 6 hours
Curated by Miles Greenberg
Co-curation: Yell Freeman
Production: Wayne Götz
Supported by: Folkwang University of the Arts, Ministerium für Kultur & Wissenschaft NRW