Flüsterbogen 1 — 8h
'whispering arch 1' — 8 hours performance + sound installation
* 1 + 2 from the script | 3—5 material and context St. Niklauskapelle, all photos © GNOM | 6 St. Niklauskapelle, photos from the internet *
process of the performance with sound installation
I spend eight hours blindfolded in the chapel room, listening, orienting myself by hearing, touching, contemplating, without ever leaving the room. The time of retreat can be understood as an offensive gesture that opens up body and space for other senses and puts them in an acutely receptive state. The sound installation by Hans-Jürg Meier, which lasts 66 minutes and 13 seconds, is an acoustic pendulum movement in the form of a loop and consists of eight parts. For each of these parts I design different actions, each of which I assign to a place in the room. They are based on the built form of the chapel room and its furnishings. The history and legends of the chapel also make this centuries-old body of concentration perceptible and visible in a differentiated way. The body expands into the room: contours and surfaces of the chapel and its objects, the physical presence of the visitors, the sound composition and other noises modulate the eight precise movement actions.
In the first and second part I move close to the floor, feel the structure of the floor plates, measure the floor dimension with my body. Based on the smallest unevenness in the floor I develop movement patterns and repeat them. In the third part I sweep with my hands over the walls and use my body weight to find points of support. In the fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth part, the volume of the room is emphasized through actions with selected materials. Thus 520 pebbles are distributed in the chapel room. This number results from the addition of numbers from the compositional structure of the acoustic installation and their derivation from the dates of the building history of the St. Niklaus Chapel. I also balance apples on my hands and on a plate on my head; the balancing of their weight leads into unpredictable moments of movement. This part also makes a reference to the altarpiece of the chapel, which shows St. Niklaus of Myra, who is often depicted with three golden balls or apples. In the fifth part I stand in a window niche and fill the immediate and extended body space with arm movements. During the eight hours the visitors can come and go as they please.