Kontraklang presents Ensemble Ictus & Caroline Daish - SAFE / Wednesday, 13.03.2019

SAFE is a hybrid experiment between a concert, performance art, and music theater. Inspired by Todd Haynesí film Safe (1995), Ensemble Ictus and performer Caroline Daish tell the story of a woman who is allergic to unidentified influences in her environment. Her allergies are so strong that they make a normal life impossible. Having become more and more isolated through her sickness, she becomes a complication, an obstacle for her external world.

SAFE begins as a live concert but gradually drifts toward an intimate listening experience. The center of the action is the performer and her nonverbal monologue, which moves between diagnoses of her disease and non-speechlike sounds. In their remaking of the filmís topics, composer Oxana Omelchuk, director Julie Pfleiderer, Ictus, and Caroline Daish confront the causes of civilizationís illnesses and their commingling with a society obsessed with control.

Ictus is a Brussels-based contemporary music collective comprising some 20 musicians, conductor Georges-Elie Octors, and a sound designer. The ensemble has released 20 CDs and carried out numerous collaborations with composers of renown. The Australian performer Caroline Daish also lives in Brussels. She often works with aspects of hearing and self-perception. Her artistic practices include text, voice, performance, and improvisation.

Program:

Oxana Omelchuk & Julie Pfleiderer: SAFE (2018)
Performers:
Caroline Daish
Ensemble:
Tom Pauwels, Guitars
Gerrit Nulens, Percussion
Hanna Kˆlbel, Violoncello