How is it possible to make an invisible phenomenon visible? Who receives attention and how can we be attentive towards the indifferent? Might indifference also include a piece of freedom as present?
Within the context of the project “Popcorn in the Morning”, which was awarded with the IKF Award for Artistic Research, André Correia (BA Animation), Madalena Wallenstein de Castro and Paula Meuthen (both UdK Berlin) have dealt with all the above questions. They were especially interested in the relationship between the audience - or rather spectators - and the performers. For their “PAM! Collective” and their objective to develop a performance on the topic, they included another three performers, two directors and a sound designer in their team. Together they conducted artistic research about possible ways to give the audience a chance to direct their attention both towards their own indifference and towards all people who are often affected by a systematic indifference.
„We have developed this project because all of us perceived a feeling of indifference in the city and we wanted to look into this feeling. We asked ourselves if there is a way to intentionally exert influence on attention/indifference."
The project comprised three phases: (1) personal exchange, (2) theoretical research and (3) practical realization. The first phase included interviews with people who the collective assumed to be affected by a supposed indifference. “Through the interviews, we had the possibility to get in touch with different people from outside our bubble. This definitely expanded our horizon.”
In addition to the examination of the interviews, the student collective read excerpts from different texts, for example written by F. Fanon and V. Despentes. Another aspect was the recurrent work with the eponymous popcorn. “Popcorn was a constant companion throughout the project. Being a snack associated with entertainment and as a symbol for the “popping up” of messages, it enabled us to visualize the attention that is permanently expected from us."
The collective produced a one-hour performance, which turned out to be a potpourri of dance, popcorn, microwaves and snippets from interviews. It was shown at Acker Stadt Palast (Berlin) on April 26th and 27th. Both performances were sold out.
