JOSEFINE SKOVGAARD – The ghosts of B&W

Audio work re-connecting us with the past on Refshaleøen

What memories lie dormant in the remains of Burmeister & Wain at Refshaleøen? Is the architecture all we have left? Does the land remember the weight of the ships and the hundreds and hundreds of workers’ footsteps carrying across its surface?

What about the air that was breathed, the waves of sound from metal striking metal, the smell of paint, and the cheer when a ship went off the stocks? How is a whole working life of ship building perceived through a human body – and is this something that architecture can actively remember?

As we mark or mourn the 30th anniversary of the closing of the shipyard, Refshaleøen is soon to be facing serious urban development initiatives. Are the memories of B&W something that we want to preserve or is it okay to simply let go and let history play its part in the form of never-ending changes?

Take part in reflections around these questions, as Josefine Skovgaard invites you to visit a ramshackle shed at the end of the dock behind the largest of the B&W industrial units. Here you’ll find a giant rusting installation, where voices from the past echo beneath the canopy of fallen painting hanging from the ceiling.

ABOUT JOSEFINE SKOVGAARD

Josefine Skovgaard is a Danish performer, art and theatre maker with an academic as well as artistic background. Her work often springs from extensive research on a place or theme, and it often involves collecting authentic, personal stories, which she incorporates in her pieces.

Her work evolves both around theatre and performance art with themes of feminist interest, e.g. wanting to express the yet-to-be-told stories of women, and around site-specific performances, where she tries to capture the essence of places in order to convey feelings, stories, and interpretations of the human experience in a reified world.

PRACTICAL INFO

Duration: 60 min.
Participants: 16
Age: 16+
Language: English and Danish
Unfortunately not suitable for people with mobility impairments or hearing impairments.