What has been magnified through the „corona-crisis“? What has become louder that was barely noticeable before? For which longings, which needs, which utopias are the experiences of the pandemic functioning as an amplifier? We asked these questions to mothers and fathers, educators, nursing staff, domestic helpers and other people who do badly paid/unpaid care-work in Vienna. An unusual and new form of political speech explores the megaphones’ tonal, rhythmic and sculptural potentials.
Gift So what kind of gift is it really/ To take care of someone/ Who is, um, dependent/ Not that I think it´s nice but/ You're in a very special position/ Or honour/ Gift, honour, none of that really fits/ I can only describe it as/ A feeling of caring It's actually really sad/ That care is so far removed from us/ Most people don't need care their entire lives/ You need care most in your early years/ And in your final/ It's actually only short periods/ And I wonder why/ We can't take on more of this ourselves/ I don't necessarily have to look after my own mother/ I could look after someone else/ But then the question is/ How to organise that
“And suddenly there was art… The sirens from mythology beguile with their singing, lure men and kill them. In the performance by Sylvi Kretzschmar, the modern ‘sirens’ have a completely different mission: to spread the word of the ‘common people’. In public places in the city of Vienna …, they appear in white robes and speak into their megaphones texts that are taken verbatim from interviews with people who, mostly unpaid, do care work.“ – FALTER (30.06.2021)
“The megaphone, which often serves as a means of agitation, gives invisible care work a loud voice. The functions of the voice amplifier, for example echo or loop effects, play a special role here.” – Scheyerer, Nicole DERSTANDARD (21.06. 2021)
Credits:
Concept/Direction: Sylvi Kretzschmar
Performance/Composition/Development/Research: Lene Benz, Irene Coticchio, Caroline Koczan, Rahel Kraft, Sylvi Kretzschmar, Patrizia Ruthensteiner
Costumes: Patrizia Ruthensteiner
Production: Oympionik*innen Productions
Choreographic impulses: Camilla Milena Fehér
Photos: Sarah Glück, SaLeh roZati
Video: Anna Hirschmann, Marie-Christin Rissinger, Gustavo Petek
Supported by KÖR Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Wien (Art in Public Space Vienna).
In cooperation with the BMKOES, the City of Vienna Culture Department and the cultural commissions of the districts Wieden, Brigittenau and Donaustadt
