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4th Wandering Arts Biennial

The fourth edition of the Wandering Arts Biennial (WAB) is taking place in 2020.
The WAB is a contemporary arts biennial that focuses on versatile research, production and presentation methods of artists with nomadic practices.

This fourth edition of the WAB returns to the initial aim of the biennial, i.e. to serve as a platform for encounter and exchange for participating artists.
In early 2020, during different gatherings, a number of themes were distilled that connect to the research and practice of participants. These strands will serve as the backdrop for the biennial, offering a focal point to all activities happening.

– different modes of wandering
– artistic ethics of wandering
– ownership / authorship – the collective question
– the institute
– rhythm (past connected to future motor)

The WAB is co-produced by all the participating artists:

Anna Raimondo, Bruno de Wachter, Buratinas Captains, Chloé Schuiten & Clément Thiry, Christian Hansen, Davide Tidoni, Eleni Kamma, Francesca Chiacchio, hans Andreas R., Isabel Burr Raty, Kasper Demeulemeester, Laurent Delom, Marialen Marouda / The Oceanographies Institute, oracle, Pacôme Béru / Atelier Cartographique, Phierre-Philippe Hofmann, Shervin Kianersi Haghighi, Steven Jouwersma, Various Artists

telepathic score by Em König

During the 4th WAB oracle deals with the physical vs imaginary presence of human beings, and with connectivity through telepathy. The upcoming vocal readings in the city connect the voice-body practice of the oracle to sci-fi writings by Mira Sanders. They are working on several outputs from these ephemeral practices such as a website, Open Tafelconferences and a re-issue of the publication Dannie.i.

Open Tafel is a format where oracle gathers different voices around the table. Using the oracle practice as a method, the participants are seen as holders of knowledge on their practice, as people who can vocally articulate information about their practice.
The topic for the Open Tafel-WAB meeting  will be ‘Voice / in / & / Public / Space’

 

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research Uncategorized

Open Tafel: Public Space

At the big public table in Place du Samedi

 

The ‘prophecy’ of the oracle can be read as the voices of individuals in a group, but also as a socio-critical awareness, questioning the position of the human being in the social, political and ecological environment. Oracle is an uncanny embodiment of the moment. Observers are confronted with questions concerning normative behaviour in our society, such as nonverbal vocalisation and group stasis in public space. What is the place for the expression of interiority in public space? Emotions like grief, anger, fear, hidden feelings, vulnerability – the whole inner architecture, are normally private. Oracle reverses this process by making those aspects visible. We believe that fragile practices questioning the human position in society deserve a valued place; that vulnerability and precarity need to be included in shared public experiences.

We acknowledge that the reading of Oracle changes depending on the demographic of the practitioners, e.g. the difference if an Oracle is a group of women vocalising in public space or a group of mixed gender. The first can be easily dismissed as crazy or weird. From prior dialogue with observers this response seems to be culturally specific and needs further investigation.

On first impression Oracle appears as a format for vocal expression. In practice, listening is at its core. Listening asks that we understand, question and transform our emotional and cultural connections to oneself, to each other and to the environment.

 

“We could think of listening as creating a path to travel on, as a passage or bridge that we need to construct together through acts of exchange. A journey that we can not go on alone. Listening is risky, in that it might require change from us. Change that can be painful, frightening or difficult.” Lucia Farinati & Claudia Firth, The Force of Listening

 

We argue that silencing-processes are put into question during an Oracle practice session as the collective experience happens outside of hierarchical structures of disciplines and knowledge. A moment of equalisation of social or cultural status is created. In what way does oracle facilitate the creation of a utopian political space?

 

oracle can be challenging, disturbing or uncomfortable and easily dismissed as sonic vandalism while happening spontaneously in public spaces.

 

Below are some questions that we have compiled for us to think about during our Open Tafel on Monday:

Are the spaces and architecture chosen for vocal activism driven by gender?

Can we read architecture as a score for vocal activism?

Is space held by voice or is the voice shaped by the space?

Is the internal architecture (body vocal apparatus, thoughts, histories) more dominant in shaping thoughts than the external architecture of space?

Does the oracle practice challenge the way we hear gender, race and age?

How do we read people and read ourselves by listening?

How is listening affected when we take out vision?

How do we hear colour?

How do we listen to a cultural history in the voice?

How is sound stored in a memory? Is it related to the shapes and environment that it was heard in?

The female voice in contemporary culture is used to cite change. A harbinger of change, rebellion or activism. Is this time passed? What voice(s) cite change now?

Categories
research telepathic practice

Open Tafel: End Retreat

Dear oracles retreaters,

We invite you to the open tafel event on 27 November 18h – 21h.
Due to the current situation we decided not to cancel the event but to adapt according to the local rules. We were looking forward very much to meeting you and hearing about your experiences during those few days in September and are deeply saddened that this is not possible at this time.
Therefore, we would like to propose that each of you creates your own ‘open tafel’ moment on the evening of 27th November, at your chosen location and in line with social distancing measures.

Some of our retreat oracles are just slipping out of a long lockdown, whilst others are creeping around or back into a kind of lockdown.
The aim of this evening is to share your experience of the telepathic retreat, tell about your thoughts, show traces or repeat one or the other chapter of the retreat with one or more people, face to face at the same table or any other way.
We will provide a symbolic fee of​ 100€ (for practical agreements please contact Caroline by Tuesday, the 25th of November) an​d suggest chapters below of activities that are open to interpretation.

Alongside this open tafel event we are planning a public sharing moment in the form of an exhibition and open air walk during January. (More information about it will follow soon). In this exhibition we would like to showcase your ​one thing​ that we previously asked you to create. Some we already have, but for the rest it would be great to receive it by the end of December.

If you have any questions, suggestions or reservations, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Categories
research

Open Tafel: individual vs collective

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telepathic practice

Telepathic Lockdown Series

oracle transformed into a telepathic practice during the first lockdown to offer connection in times of crisis and isolation; one that involves magic, imagination and communication through “waves/energy/particles”, reaching beyond physical borders. People responded to the call, ranging from local artists to people from communities beyond Brussels, and abroad. This was an experiment in connectivity and a way for oracle to share financial resources in a time of need, offering a research fee to each participant.

During 2020 we conducted three, week long telepathic practice sessions; March/April, May and December. The recordings of these sessions will be presented in a 5 channel soundpiece, mixed by Ruben Nachtergael, in q-o2 in March 2021.

 

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projects telepathic practice Uncategorized

Telepathic Traces Exhibition 21/1/2021

In September 2020, when the corona social distancing measures came into place, oracle adapted their end event group gathering into a telepathic retreat. oracle invites 16 artists to share their experiences and traces of the telepathic retreat in public spaces in the center of  Brussels. The exhibition consists of video, images, objects and writings from the telepathic retreat.

The starting point is nadine window exhibition space and also takes place in surrounding environs. As part of the exhibition oracle experimented with ways of welcoming, guiding through public space exhibition, reading the city architecture and creating safe intimacy with the audience.

The telepathic retreat participating artists are : Caroline Daish, Justine Maxelon, Lou Carvalho, Myriam van Imschoot, Marcus Bergner, Eleni Kamma, Miyuki Inoue, Various Artists, Gosie Vervloessem, Em König, Anissa Rouas, Isabel Burr Raty, Rasa Alksnyte, Ingrid Voorendt, Sawsan Maher, Elli Vassalou

https://index.nadine.be/?s=telepathic+traces