Performance artwork- Gathenhielmska Huset, Gothenburg A part
of Fringe Festival´s winter showcase
DESCRIPTION:
Closed to Public Eyes is a performance
artwork we Produced and performed at Fringe’s seasonal showcase. The
venue, Gathenhielmska Huset—a historic building from 1747—played a key
role in shaping the piece. Closed to the public for decades, this
building has served as a gathering place for secret societies. Only
recently has the city of Gothenburg begun opening its doors for cultural
events. However some of the old secret societies still meet there. This
history became our inspiration.
In this work, we explored,
Swedens deeply rooted culture of "Föreningslivet", gender
roles, male bonding/ Mochoisim, the power of rituals and symbols, and
the meaning found in the seemingly nonsensical. To build this world, we
designed and crafted our own props and created an original audio theme,
reinforcing the atmosphere and narrative of the performance.
This
is the description of the performance on the evensts page:
Sweden has the most secret societies per capita in Europe. Behind closed doors different rules are in play, views of reality
warp, personalities change. Antisocial behavior of social gatherings. Capitalizing on the collective influence. Blood brothers, no girls allowed. Optical lenses can enlarge, reduce, warp and blur, but only help you
see when used with precision. Glasses, alcohol, blurred vision, rituals conducted to a background
of rhythm. Conspiracy theories are close to truth. Culture capitalists preach to the youth. Closed to public eyes is in performance artwork by Adam Ward and
Louise Hornberg a.k.a. SPEAKERBREATHER. A part of Gathenhielmska Huset's history will be deconstructed
through light, optics, music and surreal rituals.
The video is a compilation of scenes filmed during
the performance with the music that was produced live during the
performance.