This is an on-going collaboration that began in 2015 with a trip to La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands. Locals on this island once used a whistle language called El Silbo to get messages across the steep valleys. With El Silbo in mind, we explored the landscape and experienced how it influenced the creation of the language. We took the idea of communicating across space as our main focus.
The result is a performance through an installation inspired by our travels. For each performance, Emi guides two visitors through the space. There's a table with a map, there are sculptures, sound recordings from the island, a video projection, a small observatory and a postcard. At every stop in the space, Emi tells a story that makes you feel like you were there with us, taking you from the island’s microscopic places to the cosmic.
Text and performance: Emi Kodama
Sculptures and images: Karel Verhoeven
Sound and the small observatory: Elias Heuninck
Supported by: Vooruit, BUDA, School Of Arts, Herculeslab, Formlab
Topos Sonos has been shown at
Openbare Werken - Vooruit, Gent (BE), 22 - 24 June, 2018
Dansand festival, Ostend (BE), 1 and 2 July, 2017 (premiere)
Chambres d'O, Ostend (BE), 29, 30, 31 Januari 2016 (avant premiere)