Date: 06-07/2020
Place: HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin
Group project with the participation of: Ania Nowak, Colin Self, Dragana Bulut, Enis Turan, Falk
Rößler, Joana Tischkau, Liz Rosenfeld, Mmakgosi Kgabi, Nuray Demir, Olympia Bukkakis
Subjective video of the ritual by Liz Rosenfeld
In the frame of “Unacknowledged Loss II”
In June 2020 HAU Hebbel am Ufer together with the curator Barbara Raes organised a secondbedition of a project moving between artistic residence and research, focusing on the topics of loss and rituals. Under the title “Unacknowledged Loss”, Raes shared her knowledge as curator and ritual celebrant during three full weeks with a group of Berlin based artists from diverse fields. During the whole month of June, they were working on the topic of mourning and farewell rituals today and how the zone where art, care and rituals meet can be an interesting place to explore formats for the future. This personal ritual consists of a walk, an act of destruction and a song. I am accompanied by three healers I chose for the occasion. From the Botanical Garden Blankenfelde-Pankow in the north of Berlin towards the south —HAU3 in Kreuzberg—, each of us carries a slice of wood. I destroy mine together with old furniture belonging to the Hebbel am Ufer theatre, with an axe, just before sunset. Then I listen to Addio! from “La Traviata” sang to me over and over again by one of the healers. Dom means home in Polish, cathedral in German and a person who exercises dominance in English. I walk, destroy and listen to build roots and let go of the pain of eviction. It is a discipline for sustaining a home. Against fear and homelessness.
