Lucid Sleep

Curated by HH Art Spaces, Goa

The engagement of the Live Artist is aesthetic but also shamanic, one could say; to achieve a state of transcendence through transformation. To witness ones own metamorphosis, within a performance, is the work of the live-artist crafting Time, Space and Body.

The title recalls Abbe Ferria, whose statue stands outside the Adil Shah Palace, who is a key figure in the understanding of Goa’s identity – as a hub for the practitioners of the healing arts, shamans and yogis. Abbe Ferria (b. 1756, Candolim, Bardez, Goa), was the first to carry out a large work on the scientific study of hypnosis, “Of the Cause of Lucid Sleep or Study of the Nature of Man” (De La Cause du Sommeil Lucide Ou Étude de la Nature de l’Homme).

The artists presenting the performances in this series were invited for a period one-month to be artists-in-residence at the HH Art Spaces. We are an artist-run residency space founded in 2013, as a space focused on live-art practice. The performances are un-choreographed, unique pieces composed live, in-situ by each artist. The residues of the performances will remain on-display as installations after the closing of the festival.

Bhisaji Gadekar: Goa-based performance artist, Bhisaji Gadekar is influenced by the use of space and will use the architecture as a reference or as a backdrop.

Lisa Stertz: Through her work, Lisa Stertz (re)addresses notions of identity, culture, understanding, acceptance, respect, honesty, reason and gratitude. In other words, her work is exposed to the exploration of different modes of perception to point to an unbiased openness and to alter predetermination. This happens through looking at the physical body with its abilities, the emotional body with its language, and the performing body as a medium.

Yasmin Jahan Nupur: She is inspired by the urgent ecological and community/public aspects and inclined to incorporate these elements in her work. Yasmin Jahan Nupur also likes to depict human relationships from various points of view. Therefore, she works closely with people from the community who are deprived from social benefits. Yasmin’s work explores prevailing social values of her region and she believes a collective participation with the community can increase understanding between people of different backgrounds.

For all printed lanyards at the festival, image credits: Lisa Stertz