Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/224217
28 THIS WEEK THIS WEEK Let's talk about spaces Inspired by the ideas of experimental French writer George Perec, the rubberbodies collective will be attempting a multidisciplinary which asks its prospective audience to participate in 'tasks' via the internet ahead of a performance at MITP Theatre, Valletta. TEODOR RELJIC speaks to Rebecca Camilleri about S-S-Spaces How did you go about devising the event, and most especially incorporating George Perec's ideas (were they actually the main catalyst or did you incorporate them after)? The project started as a collaboration between Nicola Rayworth (UK) and myself. We both studied at Dartington College of Arts and after completing our course, we went on our separate directions and projects. In February 2013, we were introduced to George Perec's literature by one of our tutors at Dartington. We were invited to Teeside University, UK, to lead creative dance workshops which brought together students from dance, design and creative writing to explore Perec's work. Following this experience, we decided to take the project a step further. Nicola moved to Malta in April and we lead workshops at the School of Performing Arts at University of Malta, to research the book Species of Spaces. In July, we were invited to present a work in progress at MAP/P Mostra de Processos in Portugal. So the project has been developing gradually in different stages. Meanwhile, we were also sharing ideas with Adrian Abela who is a visual artist and studied architecture. We felt that his perspective on the subject could bring in a different layer and texture to the project. How do you think the Maltese (city) scape fits into your project? Living here, there must have been some indirect or subconscious influence but there is no direct relation with Malta. In fact, the performance was constructed in a way that can fit any theater or any space by removing any association to specific places or countries. We wanted to break the boundaries which exist as every individual has his own personal and particular experiences and memories of a space. Making it more universal – in contrast CULTURE | TV | FILM CINEMA LISTINGS FOOD | WHAT'S ON You cannot ple Having recently participated in the Divergent Thinkers 2 exhibition at St James Cavalier along with her young artist peers, photographer Elisa von Brockdorff speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about her background and what she has in store for the near future "I'VE been interested in the process of 'creating' ever since I was young, yet it used to be something I did on the side. After reading for a Psychology degree, I felt it was time to take art more seriously so I obtained a diploma in Art and Design and shortly afterwards I began to prepare a portfolio in or- to Perec's work, where he mentions specific places. What kind of response are you expecting from people? What encouraged you to incorporate the interactive element? We are curious about how people will respond. Perec invites the reader to view spaces in a new ways. We followed his instructions and are now doing the same with our audience. How did you devise the online component of the event? We thought that the internet was a new space that was created after Perec and it is an important space today that virtually created a world beyond the physical one. The 'tasks' and drawings where created using techniques and language used by architects to measure space, to identify or plan space. The images are of three types, Miscellaneous (MISC): images derived from the book Species of Spaces, where the audience is invited to view spaces from an other angle by viewing these imag- Rebecca Camilleri and Nicola Rayworth rehearsing at the MITP es, secondly Exercises: images holding a task, where the audience is invited to print the images perform the task on the paper, then take a photo or scan their intervention and send it back to us on info@rubberbodies.com, and finally images directly related to the performance. The tasks require the image present as a soft file online to be printed – i.e., made physical – and then digitised again to be put back online, exploring these transitions through physical and virtual spaces too. Do you have an overarching 'strategy' for the event? Do you have any predictions about how the people might respond to the 'tasks'? The tasks are only a small part of it, we wanted the audience to have a taste of the event, or experience before the night. We also wanted to share our process and place the audience into a similar mind set. It is interesting for us to learn about the audience, the Maltese audience, and see how and if they would engage at all. How will the performative element be incorporated? The performative element has been created through different exercises which we created after reading the book and then gave to each other to create physical movement. We wanted to give the book another life and we feel that this process can be repeated by anyone who is interested in reexperiencing spaces we experience everyday through the eyes of Perec. We are saying that the performance is a 'chapter with seven paragraphs', because it is only one interpretation and we could have created other material and anyone else can use this formula and create his or her other chapter, translating Perec's words into movements and imagery. S-S-Spaces will take place at MITP Theatre, St Christopher's Street, Valletta on December 13 at 20:00. Tickets are at €5 at the door. To participate in the 'tasks', log on to http://s-s-spaces. tumblr.com/ der to apply for a Masters course in Fine Art in the UK. "I guess the most significant milestone of my education was obtaining a Masters Degree in Fine Arts at the University for the Creative Arts in England. The experience was very enriching, as it gave me more direction and helped me to determine the most suitable medium to express my ideas. In fact, I focused mainly on staged photography and installation art during the course. I was also able to visit big international exhibitions on a frequent basis, which provided me with a lot of inspiration and a broader understanding of contemporary art. "There have been a few important lessons I've learnt along the way. First and foremost, you cannot please everyone and obviously not everyone is going to like your work or style. It seems obvious but when I started understanding it properly, it was insightful. I am not a fan of over analysing an artwork either, as I feel that it should speak to you visually without the need of too much text. "Also in trying to understand what makes a 'good' art work (at least to me) I have realised that it is often quite a fine line between bringing in something which is not familiar and yet adding an element which is in fact familiar and can elicit emotion – people like