blanca arrieta
IN THIS LANDSCAPE... ¿HOW MUCH PRESENCE, ATTENTION, FICTION, REALITY? ¿WHERE THE POETRY?
NOTWITHSTANDING
Vídeo - Teaser
"A place. Where none. A time when try see. Try say. How small. How vast. How if not boundless bounded. Whence the dim..."
Fragment of "Worstward Ho" by Samuel Beckett.
Video scketches: Leire Llano
Camara operator: Carla A. Tamayo.
NOTWITHSTANDING develops from a larger multidisciplinary project: UNSEEN LANDSCAPES (still and moving), an exploration of the links between Dance and other Arts which integrates photography, illustration, video and industrial heritage architecture, designed within the framework of " Artistic interventions in unconventional spaces" of the European TRAINART 2020-22 program.
Video-creation - Ajuria and Urigoitia factory ruins.
NOTWITHSTANDING
Artistic team
Artistic and choreographic direction
BLANCA ARRIETA
Creation and performance
LAURA COBO, ROBERT JACKSON (danza)
GABRIEL OCINA (voz)
Light design
BORJA RUIZ
Video creation
LEIRE LLANO
Ajuria factory recordings
LEIRE LLANO, BLANCA ARRIETA
Drawings in video
ROBERT JACKSON
Voice recording
ALBERTO DE LA HOZ
Text
"Worstward Ho" by SAMUEL BECKETT
Photography
JUAN FÉLIX RUIZ
Promotional video
LEIRE LLANO
Camera operator
CARLA A. TAMAYO
External partners
TRAINART, Hacería Arteak, ZAWP, CDART, Dantzalabea
ESKENA, Harrobia, Laboratorio KLEM
Subsidized by
GOBIERNO VASCO
Departamento de Cultura y Política Lingüística
Special thanks to
The state of SAMUEL BECKETT
Premiered at BARAKALDO THEATRE
16/03/2024
Duration: 60min.
Photography: Juan Félix Ruiz.
NOTWITHSTANDING arises from the observation of a unique scenery: the ruins of the Ajuria and Urigoitia factory in Araia (Álava), one of the first modern steelworks in the Basque Country. This magnificent architectural structure preserves the visual force, the mystery and the evidence of the past. In this place time seems to stop, for those listening and gazing. Getting closer, we observe how the space merges with the environment, how it stands and separates from the surrounding nature, yet it completes it.
The work focuses on the notion of permanence, reinventing a place that endures, remains standing, with as much fragility as determination. It offers a vision of the delicate balance between body and soul, and invites the audience to make their own interpretation of the different imaginary and poetic states.
A beautiful reading of the text "Worstward Ho" by Samuel Becket, in its original version (English), accompanies the work. The choreography interacts with the rhythm and musicality of the language of Beckett's text, giving shape to a complex dance full of nuances. The lighting makes these visible, as it encounters the body and all it's surfaces. Light participates in the creation of movement, transforming the perception of a landscape in continuous change.
The video work provides breadth and depth to the stage space, taking us beyond the visible boundaries. It blurs it's contours to immerse us in the intimacy that pulsates in the Ajuria factory. This 7 minute video is presented within the timeframe of the work. It reflects both the stillness and the movement that coexist in the captured image of a body, an object or the elements of nature. It gives us an impression of their vibration and a unique perspective of the space.
The body, in dialogue, sensitive, isolated, receptive, extensive, tenacious, confused, restless, calm, expressive, is our language.
This project brings together a mixed team of collaborators made up of dancers and performers Laura Cobo and Robert Jackson, actor Gabriel Ocina, lighting designer Borja Ruiz, visual artist Leire Llano and photographer Juan Félix Ruiz.