INSIDE OUT by Schweigman& and Johannes Bellinkx
TIME
4 September 17h00 & 19h00
5 September 11h00, 12h30, 14h00, 15h30, 18h00, 19h30
6 September 11h00, 12h30, 14h00, 15h30, 18h00, 19h30
7 September 11h00, 12h30, 14h00, 15h30, 18h00
MEETING PLACE Annekset, Refshalevej 320, Refshaleøen – see location
WHAT Performance installation
FREE ENTRY – reservation recommended
Reserve free ticket
Where does physical reality end and where does imagination begin?
We live in a society where the body is understimulated and the brain overstimulated. The two artists, Boukje Schweigman and Johannes Bellinkx, have therefore developed the sensory, innovative performance installation INSIDE OUT, which re-creates the connection to the body – very concretely – and sets the mind free.
You enter a container-like room and are placed side by side with the other participants. You put on a large suit. The air is slowly sucked out, creating a deep pressure that activates the nerve endings between muscles and joints.
The inspiration comes from psychiatric treatment with pressure vests and weighted blankets. The artists have conducted extensive research on over- and understimulation – a complex dual state where we are constantly exposed to input, but rarely take the time to notice the body’s signals, which creates a disconnection from ourselves and each other.
As the suit physically envelops us, we are surrounded by a hypnotic soundscape composed by renowned Cypriot sound artist Yannis Kyriakides. Our senses are on an adventure, our thoughts are freed from their usual patterns, and we feel our bodies in a new and very tangible way.
Through an intimate and shared sensory experience, INSIDE OUT allows us to shift our attention and explore the boundaries between the inside and the outside. Where does our body end and the outside world begin?
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
With a refreshing lack of respect for codes and conventions, Boukje Schweigman, the woman behind Schweigman&, has been a major name on the European performance scene for more than 20 years. She is a graduate of the renowned Amsterdam Theatre School, which has nurtured a pioneering generation of Dutch artists.
She has been named the queen of sensory theatre with a unique ability to create visually powerful and physically poetic universes that captivate audiences. Her award-winning works have been shown across most of Europe, and she was in Scandinavia for the first time as part of Metropolis in 2018 with the eminent performance FOR THE TIME BEING.
Johannes Bellinkx belongs to a generation of Dutch artists who are making an international mark with their brand of vivid stagings of everyday life. He is originally a social geographer, but subsequently trained at the same place as Boukje Schweigman – the Amsterdam Theatre School, famous for its visual/scenographic approach to performing arts.
Johannes’ work is interdisciplinary and based on research. He often takes as his starting point a radical concept related to topics that have an impact on our way of living. He loves to challenge his audience by expanding our ability to sense and make us create our own stories.
At Metropolis you have previously been able to experience Bellinkx’s binocular installation FRAMING at Blågårds Plads in 2017 and the backwards walk REVERSE in 2019, which became a cult hit. His works are presented at festivals in Europe, including as a selected artist of the network In Situ – European platform for artistic creation in public space.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Duration: 60 min.
Age: 14+
CREDITS
Concept: Boukje Schweigman & Johannes Bellinkx
Reception and execution: Rosanne Geerdes
Music: Yannis Kyriakides
Stage technic: Merijn Versnel
Technical manager: Titus Duitshof
Design and creation of suits: Air Design / Erik van Dongen
Photos: Karin Jonkers
Metropolis’ summer programme is supported by the City of Copenhagen and the Danish Arts Foundation.
