www (world war water) is a performance and installation, a co-creation featuring Aïda Jamal and Imane Elkabli, with scenographic direction by Lori Kharpoutlian. It is a mise-en-situation of the worst of scenarios: with the last remaining cup of water, how is power negotiated, alliances formed and broken? It is through this (not so) speculative situation that the artists ask: how can we use our bodies to grapple with the disappearance of the very resource vital to our physical sustenance? How do our bodies seep into one another? As three artists coming from one of the most arid regions in the world, and with that, the most prone to conflict over water, this performance is a personal, ecological, and political exploration of the tensions that surround water using performative, scenographic, and cartographic tools.
During their residency, the artists will undergo a two-tiered process: one of material research to develop the scenography and sound component in relation to concepts of porosity and failure, and one of movement research revolving around physical and political states (of bodies) of water.
-Imane Elkabli is a Moroccan contemporary dancer and cultural coordinator. Her artistic practice delves into the complexities of the human self, exploring questions related to the body, its memory, and its presence in the social sphere.
-Aïda Jamal is a Moroccan artist and clinical psychologist. With a background in visual arts and design, she turned to dance through intensive programs and residencies across Morocco, Europe, and Egypt. Her work focuses on dance research, creative processes, and critical analysis.
-Lori Kharpoutlian is a dancer and architect based in Beirut. With a shapeshifting practice, she uses different ways of researching and making from the performance, architectural, and visual arts worlds.
“www” (2024) - Featuring Aïda Jamal and Imane Elkabli, with scenographic direction by Lori Kharpoutlian, this performance was initially conceived of and produced within the frame of the 2024 edition of the @youmein_festival with support from @a.mal_projects and the @alctangier . (For background info, check previous posts)
Photo credits: @salaheddine.elbouaaichi - Art Explora Festival, Tangier, 2024
The war on resources will be the last of wars.
“www (world war water)” is a durational performance and installation. It is a mise-en-situation of the worst of scenarios: with the last remaining cup, how is power negotiated, resources indulged and rationed, alliances formed and broken?
As three artists coming from the most arid region in the world, and with that, the most prone to conflict over water, this performance is a personal, ecological, and political exploration of the tensions that surround water using performative, scenographic, and cartographic tools.
Photo Credits: Salaheddine El Bouaaichi @salaheddine.elbouaaichi - Art Explora Festival, Tangier, 2024
In July 2024, alongside @imane.elkabli_ and @aidajamalll , I took part in @youmein_festival , a 48-hour residency and festival in Tangier Morocco. The year’s theme was Sumud, best translated as steadfastness. Through a (not so) speculative situation of a last remaining cup of water, we asked ourselves: How can we use our bodies to grapple with the disappearance of the very resource vital to our physical sustenance? What does it mean to be steadfast when our collective existence is at stake?
Two months later, As Imane and Aida were performing the piece once again in Tangier, I stayed behind in Lebanon under heavy bombardment where discussions in “diplomatic” circles were re-emerging around the Litani River serving as a defining boundary. The very concepts I had been looking into: water as a quencher and provoker of anxiety, bodies of water as political markers…suddenly resurfaced as a reality we were (are) living in Lebanon. (to be cont’d)
I want to thank: my wonderful co-creators Aida and Imane, the scenography would be nothing without the poetry you infused it with - @youmein_festival for the most considerate forms of hosting - @a.mal_projects for the great input and support - @sssaarry for always adding a touch of magic to my sound collages. Cover Photo Credit: Salaheddine El Bouaaichi @salaheddine.elbouaaichi - Art Explora Festival, Tangier, 2024
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“Exercise Among Friends: In Tending to Abundance”
a durational performance by Lori Kharpoutlian & Elie Mouhanna
16-17/09/2023 at Takeover, Beirut
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In a time characterized by extraordinary crises and spectacular events, what observations can surface from a momentary pause into the banal? This exercise is an act of scrutinizing that which is undeniably there, neglected and in abundance, but that we do not want to confront.
A forever-procrastinated and seemingly menial organizational task is turned into an exercise of accumulation, one that oscillates between the domestic space and the marketplace, the commonplace and the spectacular, modern time and geological time, moving from piles to strata—of material and meaning.
This durational performance is the first installment of Lori’s “Exercise Among Friends”: a simple exercise-based format; an excuse to come together with others and play with the unfolding of an idea without a final outcome in mind. After countless exchanges and what-if’s over the years, she invited Elie to think together of an exercise that responds to both their practices.
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Video credits: courtesy of @takeover.beirut
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#performance #performanceart #durationalperformance
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"Exercise Among Friends: In Tending to Abundance"
a durational performance by Lori Kharpoutlian & Elie Mouhanna
16-17/09/2023 at @takeover.beirut
.
In a time characterized by extraordinary crises and spectacular events, what observations can surface from a momentary pause into the banal? This exercise is an act of scrutinizing that which is undeniably there, neglected and in abundance, but that we do not want to confront.
A forever-procrastinated and seemingly menial organizational task is turned into an exercise of accumulation, one that oscillates between the domestic space and the marketplace, the commonplace and the spectacular, modern time and geological time, moving from piles to strata—of material and meaning.
This durational performance is the first installment of Lori’s "Exercise Among Friends": a simple exercise-based format; an excuse to come together with others and play with the unfolding of an idea without a final outcome in mind. After countless exchanges and what-if’s over the years, she invited Elie to think together of an exercise that responds to both their practices.
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Photo credits: courtesy of Lori Kharpoutlian & Elie Mouhanna
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#performance #performanceart #durationalperformance
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"Exercise Among Friends: In Tending to Abundance"
a durational performance by Lori Kharpoutlian & Elie Mouhanna
16-17/09/2023 at Takeover, Beirut
.
In a time characterized by extraordinary crises and spectacular events, what observations can surface from a momentary pause into the banal? This exercise is an act of scrutinizing that which is undeniably there, neglected and in abundance, but that we do not want to confront.
A forever-procrastinated and seemingly menial organizational task is turned into an exercise of accumulation, one that oscillates between the domestic space and the marketplace, the commonplace and the spectacular, modern time and geological time, moving from piles to strata—of material and meaning.
This durational performance is the first installment of Lori’s "Exercise Among Friends": a simple exercise-based format; an excuse to come together with others and play with the unfolding of an idea without a final outcome in mind. After countless exchanges and what-if’s over the years, she invited Elie to think together of an exercise that responds to both their practices.
.
Photo credits: courtesy of @takeover.beirut
.
#performance #performanceart #durationalperformance
A BTS look back at the first work-in-progress of my performance, when it was still called “A Body in Waiting” (working title)
- HAU Berlin, December 2022
“A Body in Waiting” (working title), work-in-progress presentation, Berlin, December 2022
“A Body in Waiting” (working title) is a set of musings into the politics of waiting, as it manifests in digital algorithms, economic and political strategies, and the design of various domestic objects. Through a process of sampling and juxtaposition, it aims to explore the temporal, psychological, and spatial tensions this bodily condition creates.
Photo credit: @julien.harfouche
The performance research phase was part of “Un|Controlled Gestures II” – an initiative of the Goethe-Institut in cooperation with HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin, curated by Nedjma Hadj Benchelabi and Shaymaa Shoukry.
“A Body in Waiting” (working title), work-in-progress presentation, Berlin, December 2022
“A Body in Waiting” (working title) is a set of musings into the politics of waiting, as it manifests in digital algorithms, economic and political strategies, and the design of various domestic objects. Through a process of sampling and juxtaposition, it aims to explore the temporal, psychological, and spatial tensions this bodily condition creates.
The performance research phase was part of “Un|Controlled Gestures II” – an initiative of the Goethe-Institut in cooperation with HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin, curated by Nedjma Hadj Benchelabi and Shaymaa Shoukry.
