SJ from Virginia Mastrogiannaki on Vimeo.
SJ
The performance SJ is a narration of a true story.
In 1905 in Orleans, France, the convicted Henri Languille lost his life in the guillotine. Shortly after his execution Doctor Beaurieux who was present, shouted the name of the executed. The eyes of the severed head responded by opening vigorously. The doctor's call was repeated two more times. The third time Henri's gaze faded forever. The incident was recorded in a 6-page text by Dr Beaurieux as a medical experiment in the archives "les Archives d'Anthropologie Criminelle". The whole event lasted 30 seconds.
In 1996, Douglas Gordon exposed Henri Languille's last moments in 30 Seconds Text by recording Henri’s execution in a new, shorter text, which takes 30 seconds to read.
In 2020 the piece SJ extends the duration of 30 seconds text through a vocal performance. A deconstructive reading of this new text takes place, pronouncing each letter for 30 seconds. It takes about 8 hours to read the whole text in Turkish.
The performance SJ was presented at the Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi in Istanbul, curated by the Marina Abramovic Institute. Its scheduled duration was 6 consecutive weeks, eight hours per day.
The performance SJ is a narration of a true story.
In 1905 in Orleans, France, the convicted Henri Languille lost his life in the guillotine. Shortly after his execution Doctor Beaurieux who was present, shouted the name of the executed. The eyes of the severed head responded by opening vigorously. The doctor's call was repeated two more times. The third time Henri's gaze faded forever. The incident was recorded in a 6-page text by Dr Beaurieux as a medical experiment in the archives "les Archives d'Anthropologie Criminelle". The whole event lasted 30 seconds.
In 1996, Douglas Gordon exposed Henri Languille's last moments in 30 Seconds Text by recording Henri’s execution in a new, shorter text, which takes 30 seconds to read.
In 2020 the piece SJ extends the duration of 30 seconds text through a vocal performance. A deconstructive reading of this new text takes place, pronouncing each letter for 30 seconds. It takes about 8 hours to read the whole text in Turkish.
The performance SJ was presented at the Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi in Istanbul, curated by the Marina Abramovic Institute. Its scheduled duration was 6 consecutive weeks, eight hours per day.
The chair
What is required for this performance is the function of the body as a loud speaker. Therefore the chest has to be constantly open through lateral-septum breathing, so that the vocal cords would not be injured by the long hours exposion. The SJ performance's chair has technically its origins and reference to orthodox church seats. This chair was designed to keep my chest open the moments I realized that my physical powers were leaving me.
What is required for this performance is the function of the body as a loud speaker. Therefore the chest has to be constantly open through lateral-septum breathing, so that the vocal cords would not be injured by the long hours exposion. The SJ performance's chair has technically its origins and reference to orthodox church seats. This chair was designed to keep my chest open the moments I realized that my physical powers were leaving me.
phonetic courses: Martha Kylafi
turkish language courses: Emriye Demirkır
turkish language courses: Emriye Demirkır
