Other Spaces performance collective: Olives and Stones on Tuesday July 2nd from 4 to 6 PM and on Wednesday July 3rd from 10.30 AM to 12.30 PM — Meeting point: The Finnish Alvar Aalto Pavilion, Giardini, Venice.
Olives and Stones -event supplements the ensemble of the two exhibitions, Falling Trees, curated by Gruppo 111 (Mika Elo, Marko Karo and Harri Laakso). It is realized by the Other Spaces performance collective in cooperation with Scarlattine Teatro (Lecco, Italy).
The convenor of the Helsinki-based Other Spaces collective Esa Kirkkopelto, a theatre director, dramaturge, and philosopher, characterizes Olives and Stones as a series of demonstrations during which the performers will transform themselves to crickets, worms, mushrooms, bats and other non-human beings, in an attempt to re-inhabit planet Earth. The choreography of the event is also influenced by the Nordic midsummer feast tradition. Towards the end the audience will be invited to participate in a walking tour across the space in-between the species. The performance also forms a commentary for the piece Olive Stones (1984) by artist Joseph Beyus, in which two materials, olive oil and Italian sandstone, are put together into a cycle of transformation.
The Helsinki-based performance art collective Other Spaces, founded in 2004, consists of around 30 artists from several fields of arts, meets regularly every week, since continuous physical training makes up the core of the collective’s working principles. Even their performances take the form of collective physical exercises, where the audience is invited to take part.
Other Spaces collective’s visit to the Venice Biennial has been supported by TINFO / Arvi Kivimaa Foundation and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
Admittance to the Biennial area at the Giardini with a Biennial ticket.