Time is the Key to Everything that Possesses Form (ubi sunt qui ante nos in mundo fuere) , 2024
This live performance draws from the literary tradition of "Ubi Sunt" ("Where are they now?"), a feeling that arises when we see the artifacts and ruins of forgotten peoples. The composition of vases is inspired by the still-life painting "Bodegón con cacharros" by the 17th-century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán. Unlike typical still-life paintings that include fruits or other foodstuffs, Zurbarán's composition of vessels alone is unique. These vessels, common in their era and used daily for holding water, are central to the performance.
In this artwork, the vessels have not undergone the firing process, making them susceptible to the water they contain. As the clay bodies remoisturize, they eventually collapse, transforming into a ruined version of themselves. These vessels serve as artifacts, tangible links to the past that anchor collective memory.
"Time is Form" is a silent poem without words, evoking an alienated kind of nostalgia. The collapse of these vases is not tied to a personal memory but to a collective past, reflecting on the impermanence and fragility of human endeavors.
This performance was part of the Media School Bar x event at Arthur Copenhagen on March 7, 2024, where students from the Media School at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts presented a choreographed time-based wining prompted by notions of trauma, memory, identity and mediation.
Warm thanks to our professor @kjanejin, our hosts@art_hub_copenhagen, @mimebraad, @nikolajnphillipsen and the wonderful audience.
All photos by @emem0l