Katya Ev I Augenmusik, performance, streets of Paris, 2016 - performance reactivation in Aalst, commission of Netwerk Aalst, 2021

Augenmusik (re-enactment under the title Performative Walk)

live performance, streets of Aalst (Be) & live video broadcast

2021

Commissioned by Netwerk Aalst for the exhibition New Songs for the Old Cities, Netwerk Aalst, Aalst (Be)

courtesy of Katya Ev

ph Katya Ev, Alice Haddad, Elena Kuri, Frances Horn, Jesse Van Winden,

images (c) Katya Ev

The performance took place as an unauthorized action in public space, during national lockdown for Covid-19, prohibiting all manifestations, artistic events and gatherings in public spaces.

Llegal, and financial risks, including the potential fines, for using police flashlights were covered by Netwerk Aalst (Be).

Performers: 3

Carried object: police flashing lights

Location: streets of Aalst, Belgium

Time: twighlight (blue hour)

Route(s): From four starting points in Aalst to Netwerk Aalst (art center hosting the exhibition)

Length of route(s): 0,6km to 1,4 km

Travel time(s): 10min to 20min

Direct viewers: estimated around 100

Online viewers: estimated over 350

The live performance Augenmusik has expanded into a homologue body of works, sharing the same title (2016/2021) incl. re-performances, videos, photographs, installation, print editions etc.

Katya Ev, Augenmusik, re-enactment under the title Performative Walk, streets of Aalst, 2021 - map or routes

Starting points of the walk
Action, low-budget chain store situated straight in front of the Aalst police station. The route passes through the wealthy area of the city, its historical center with the Grote Markt and the vivid shopping streets. The performer will put the light on inside Action.

OLV Hospital, large and renowned medical centre that serves the wider Aalst area. The route to Netwerk passes through the mixed working class area on the East side of the river. The performer will put the light on inside the reception hall accessible through the main entrance.

Aalst Bus Station, part of the central transport node of the city of Aalst, certainly the most lively location of Aalst that serve the working class commuters. The route to Netwerk passes by the Town Hall of Aalst and the bridge that connects the West and East sides of river Dender. The performer will put the light on Platform 1.

Performers

Aline Hernández (Mexico, 1988) is an art historian, curator and editor currently based in Brussels. Her research focuses on the emancipatory potential of photography for repressed groups of people. Since 2015, she has been part of artists’ and activists’ groups in Mexico and as a journalist has collaborated in amplifying numerous social struggles in the context of Mexico.

Mia Kreutz (Belgium, 1995) is a trans person, an apprentice guitar builder and a musician formerly working in the cultural sector in Brussels, originally from a rural German-speaking part of Belgium. She strongly believes in gender and racial equality, and a libertarian socialist feminist who is no stranger to police confrontations.

Hadassa Ngamba (Congo, 1993) visual artist currently based in Belgium. Through paintings, drawings, videos, installations and performance Ngamba reveals indicators of capitalist factors for controlling strategic spaces, notably land and mineral resources resulting in poignant social and environmental issues in Congo.

video documentation of live performance Augenmusik (Performative Walk), 2021, camera Katya EV, performer Alice Hernandez

In the present context of unprecedented restrictions of public life and repressive politics to control the current health crisis, three performers will silently and separately depart from different parts of the city of Aalst holding blue flashing lights, hereby following all current regulations. This walk relates to the Augenmusik (Paris, 2016), a performance where twenty-four performers departed simultaneously from each of the twenty-four “entrances” to Paris. Holding blue flashing lights in front of them, the participants walked from the Parisian ring towards the city center. The performance triggered a strong reaction that revealed the sense of panic embedded in society.

Indicated on the map of Aalst are the different trajectories of the three participants with their symbolically selected starting points. The light-bearers who lead the way represent a perspective on the medical sector, discrimination, gender, police violence, wealth inequalities and public life. You can follow them live online or encounter them in the streets of Aalst.The current covid-related measures are taken through a logic of emergency, crisis and necessity, but cause alarming situations in numerous other domains. Already for a longer time, authorities have embraced a ‘state of exception’. Conceived by the artist to not go against any applicable law, the walk makes visible to what extent the authorities themselves walk on the border of legislation. Katya EV & Jesse Van Winden

video documentation of live performance Augenmusik (Performative Walk), 2021, camera Katya EV, performer Alice Hernandez

Live broadcast of the performance (excerpt):

Credits:

Production: Katya Ev & Netwerk Aalst

Performers: Aline Hernández, Mia Kreutz, Hadassa Ngamba

Photo & video documentation: Katya Ev, Alice Haddad, Frances Horn, Jesse Van Winden, ELena Kuri

Live broadcast (cameras & broadcast): Netwerk Aalst

Acknowledgments : Jesse Van Winden