Nína Hjálmarsdóttir
Suitable 2.0
Photos: Iris Duvekot
NEUNOW Festival
Performance + Artist Talk
Friday 16 September 2016 / 22.15 / Westergastheater
Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam
The European League of Institute of the Arts
In the second edition of Suitable for NEUNOW FESTIVAL the group changed the piece for a new performer with new scenes, focusing more on national identity and the Icelandic stereotype.
Suitable began by researching identity and resulted in a collection of personal and autobiographical stories. Nína Hjálmarsdóttir's method involved the translation of these stories into movements, scenes and interactions using video technology with layers of live-streaming and video clips. The goal was to raise questions regarding what it means to have an identity, to be of a specific gender, to be an Icelander and to be in love.
Suitable is a performance that raises questions about identity and intimacy: who are we and what groups we belong to? It began with researching our own identity. The multiplied layers enable us to literally interact with each other and ourselves, blurring the line between the past and the present. The performance was created based on intuition and emotion, rather than with a specific purpose to deliver a particular message to the audience. Instead, the performance invites the audience to develop their own personal interpretation. The scenes performed in Suitable are the result of an improvisational process, with music created during rehearsals, that in turn influenced the final piece, straddling the borders of theatre, visual arts and performance arts.
Author: Nina Hjálmarsdóttir in collaboration with Birkir Sveinbjörnsson, Selma Reynisdóttir and Sigurður Andrean Sigurgeirsson
Director: Nína Hjálmarsdóttir
Performers: Selma Reynisdóttir and Sigurður Andrean Sigurgeirsson
Music: Ingvi Rafn Björgvinsson
Tech- and stage: Egill Ingibergsson
Performance Recording: Jitte Hoekstra - Framlab
http://www.nxt-creatives.eu/artists/nina-hjalmarsdottir