Six Breaths per Minute

Is the body always a safe space? How do you create a space where one feels safe to express themselves? How does a breath create the medium of communication? In “Six Breaths per Minute,” ceramic sculptures inspired by Greek tradition function as exoskeletons and clay sound costumes that accommodate the bodies of performers and visitors. The bodies become one with these large geometric and organic shapes. They transform the image of the body and make space for voices struggling to unite with other voices and be heard clearly, against all forms of violence. The work is activated by performative actions of female performers, who temporarily ‘inhabit’ the ceramic sculptures, utilizing them as musical shells. With references to the polyphonic song of Epirus – through the titles-names of the five ceramics (Partis, Clostis, Isocrates, Prologistis, Richtis) – but also to the art of ceramics, the work refers simultaneously to the cultural wealth and the historical past of the cities of Epirus.

The work was adapted for the “Plásmata II: Ioannina” exhibition.