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Vanishing Point

Photo: Myrto Grigoriou

9 Led Tubes, Arduino.

Design of a minimal light installation of 9 light tubes for the performance “Vanishing Point” by Dafin Antoniadou and Alexandros Vardaxoglou premiered at Onassis New Choreographers Festival 7.

Credits

Choreography: Alexandros Vardaxoglou, Dafin Antoniadou
Music: Constantine Skourlis, Stephan Richter
Costume Design: Christina Lardikou
Light Design: Yiannis Kranidiotis
Costume Construction: Solo Victoria
Lights Operator: Vangelis Mountrichas
Production Coordination: Maria Vasariotou
Production Management: Delta-Pi
Supported By: Bedouin Records And Rēs Ratio Network
Photos: Myrto Grigoriou

Onassis Stegi webpage: https://www.onassis.org/whats-on/onassis-new-choreographers-festival-7/vanishing-point

 

Performances:

Vanishing Point, Onassis Stegi – Athens, Greece (February 01, 2020)

Photos:

Photos: Myrto Grigoriou

Description

“Dismembered and incomplete at the edges of life” in the words of these two choreographers, the body seems to be both a destination reached and unreachably distant at the same time. In “Vanishing Point”, a humanoid being wakes from the depths of an agonizing memory or an otherworldly future. Is this science fiction or some nightmare made a reality? The stage is turned into a mirror of existence, through which the deepest of fears are refracted, with images drawn from the human condition itself.

Taking endless transformations and the plasticity of bodies as its vehicle, this work by Dafin Antoniadou and Alexandros Vardaxoglou places us within the eternal struggle with forces that act on each other in contradictory and yet connective ways as concerns the subject (as in conscious mind): the irresistible desire for union, that serves as a reminder of every symbiotic relationship that seeks to “birth” a new form of life, and the violent separation from the other, that signifies our dual nature that – though seemingly a given – opens itself up every so often to the unknown with a view to attaining totality.

Inspired by both the science fiction genre and contemporary human crises (indications of a truly dark future to come), these two young choreographers have created a scenic environment that places the body at its heart: as the outer limit of existence, and as the border our consciences seek to cross in their struggle to lay claim to a more rounded and holistic outlook on the world in which we live.

The hybrid body appears in both mythological narratives and science fiction stories. A material that is easily molded, the body often becomes a surface onto which our innermost fears are projected, thus giving strange creatures flesh and form – beings that seek to enter into dialogue with contemporary humankind and its history.

This work is the first time Antoniadou and Vardaxoglou have attempted to collaborate and create a choreography together. Nevertheless, these two young artists have made it clear that they don’t want this on-stage partnership to be read through conventional notions of the duet. Their inspirations are drawn from both the visual arts and from film, and they incorporate these clear references into the work’s atmosphere and soundscape.