Nuances of M

Photo: José Figueroa

A room, a body, and several Medusas melting together, blending, and appearing in camouflaged figures and masked faces. The masks conceal, protect or reveal. Languages are mediated through these masks that we constantly wear and are defined by. Linguistic masks, which we use in order to create meaning, and poetic masks, which play with the violence of language.

The performance is a contemplation of Medusa’s language, energy and force. Medusa assembles the passions of anger, and lets its energy create movement. Identity appears in the transition as a visual strategy to confuse and deceive the viewer from distinguishing the identity of the one camouflaged. The laughing Medusa puts movement into meaning – it is a body that resists in each moment.

Performed by: Caroline Byström
Light design: Ronald Salas
Sound design: Lisa Ullén and Sofia Jernberg

Premiere at Weld 2017
Developed in residency at and supported by Weld
With support by City of Stockholm

Nuances of M is the second piece in Katja Seitajoki’s performance trilogy that speaks about camouflage as a concept. In the trilogy the concept is linked to visible and invisible patterns and structures in society. Camouflage is not solely used with the purpose to cover or disguise, but also as a tool for us to act with and adapt to our surroundings. It is a negotiation between the subject and the surrounding environment. Seitajoki’s trilogy asks the question: which bodies are accepted in a society?