Freja Bäckman: I was told I chop wood like a ballet dancer

Welcome to collective wood chopping

Two workshops with Freja Bäckman

Tuesday 27 June at 17-20 h
Saturday 1 July at 13-16 h

They call it work. They find a common rhythm. They work (it) out. They take time to do this. They wonder if it is pr-oduction. They know the rules. They say it’s violent. They find them selves in stagnation. They a-scape. They are not reveling what is invisible. They know their abilities. They call it a repetitive motion. They make the rules. They say it does matter what stories they tell. 

As a physical way of coming together, concentrating on the matter of doing together, a repetitive, exhausting exercise. A meditative situation, a physical activity, possibly a violent action, a resonance piece. There are acts of violence and resistance in the wood chopping that we will explore and work with. Approaching it through notions of vulnerability, pleasure and repulsion.

Possible to attend both or only one of the workshops; No pre-knowledge is needed; The workshop is free, materials will be provided; Language English, with possibility for German
Please register until Friday, 23 June 2017 at press@district-berlin.com

Freja Bäckman’s practice is mainly situated within different forms of groups and collaborations, not only as a preferred way of working but also a central topic evolving around friendships and exclusions, the spaces and time we share and the politics of these.

I was told I chop wood like a ballet dancer is a body of work which got it’s beginning as part of Repose (2015). wood: session 1 was collective wood chopping in the greenery and wood: session 2 a one-on-one sound installation set up in a garden.

The workshops are part of this series and will contribute to the development of a forthcoming performance at District. Mit freundlicher Unterstützung durch das Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland und die Kone Foundation.