In Response is a participatory performance, consisting of a series of meetings, intra-actions, drawings on uncovered body parts. These drawings are made in response to the bodies they are made on, the pencil lines drawn by other participants, as well as other sensations and importantly, the silent setting in which we work. The duration of the performance is approximately 1,5 h. By addressing the authentic ways of communication, where the sense of touch, observation, and sensitivity are at the core of the ability to respond. This project deals with matters, such as communication and comprehension; being and becoming, emotions and thoughts in the physical contexts. With this project, we aim to let go of the socially hierarchical structures, categorization, and work against the virtualization of human contact, which is very much present in modern Western societies. “In Response” intends to unveil participants’ preconstructed behaviors, beliefs and gives the possibility for new forms of knowledge and relations to occur.
This is a research project. We developed our artistic method engaging with proxemics and the “comfort zone”, silence and slow paste, alternative ways of communication and comprehension, relation and recognition. Diffraction, which is a critical practice of engagement, is our research method. In this practice-based research methodology we place the emphasis on the senses, intuition, and embodied experience.