DURATIONAL ROPE

This work is a performative exploration lasting several hours, in which the artist duo QUARTO, using a kilometrelong rope, challenges the notion of what a body is capable of.

What is a thing, an object? How does it interact with a body, a subject? A rope, for instance, is one thing if we use it to tie something up or hold it together, and something entirely different if we use it as a whip. Thus, the object in itself does not exist, it is merely a function. In a five-hour performance, a 1000-metre rope is manipulated to generate a tension between body and rope through constant motion. The physical exertion, on the verge of the unbearable, gradually peels away our notions of body and object, ego and drama.

Acknowledgements:
Artistic direction, choreography, concept & performance: Leandro Zappala
Choreography, concept & performance: Anna af Sillén de Mesquita

Premiere: Museum of Modern Art of Stockholm

Thanks to Pille Repmakarn

Co-production: Moderna Museet, INKONST, MDT and SITE.
Supported by: The Swedish Arts Council, Stockholm’s Culture Committee and The International Dance Programme – The Swedish Arts Grants Committeé’s International Programme for Dance Artists