Maiko Sakurai Karner & Cat Jimenez – WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
Sophie Eidenberger
Dear Cat & Maiko,
Last night I was taken out of my shoes, as I was on my way to an unexpected journey.
Resisting an irrational desire to quickly collapse onto a seat, I got kind of forced to examine the room, seemingly more of a transitory place, at second glance a show room in fact. So I found myself strolling through this little urban space of yours, urban as it created an atmosphere of accidental common lingering, bedded in a sense of shared intimacy.
It was easy finding a way into your pace, as you gave us the chance to witness your exhibition revolving and reshaping. Both movement material and material objects emerged out of and into one another, but never in a forced or dishonest way. Your feeling for rhythm lead a well-balanced path, from tales of calmness to waves of brutal energy, catching me in some places I hadn't expected - I feel the element of surprise barely ever works, as surprise to me seems to often become all too predictable - I truly want to thank you for this, as it made the evening an even more memorable one.
Here I think the strength lies in your talent for multi-layered composition, which is again a question of rhythm; but also a matter of light, noise, and activating your audience to a soft gentle flow. You kept me feeling not only witnessing, but being inside something, making it easy to keep my head in the here-and-now.
Wandering home, I could still feel an echo of the weight of that pile of clothes and those little flowers in your corner, which I hope will remain, not only with me.
To me you managed to exhibit not only your sincerity and urgency, but also built the bridge to sharing it in a most empathetic way, making me believe in the truth of each of your gestures.
I hope you keep pushing those strings, re-shaping some frames, spreading shades of rage onto blocks of opaque stubbornness.
All the best,
Sophie
Sophie Eidenberger is a student at the Scenography department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. After finishing the Bachelor degree in theatre-, film- and media studies, she assisted on the art departments of various theatre and film productions.
Philippe Riera
Dear Cat and Maiko,
let me try to explain what difference it makes to me
It’s like when a bi-dimensional painting…
turns into a 3-D dance!
It’s like when
none of the 2 women takes the lead
actually they style each other up
they mirror each other, get through one another
breathe
scream or shine
brilliantly
Gosh, I can remember Cat’s scream!
an impressive scream
The kinda scream that takes you back under that bridge where your friend got raped once, long ago
still
the pain is accurate
solid
It is still there
when that kinda scream
breaks out unexpectedly in your piece
It is also a great challenge to use dance
to incorporate dance in a performance
to justify a move in a piece
that keeps searching for its own format
its own language
But there it comes!
And Maiko’s steel angular clouds allow me
to reframe the dance
to frame the audience
and even better
to enjoy the dance
through wide shots and close-ups… helloo!
Visiting Maiko and Cat’s piece
your piece
it’s like walking a gallery
or even better an atelier
where various shapes/forms/fabrics/movements/lights/sound/music/paintings
are being processed and digested before our eyes.
Every single element of the work
is BECOMING something different
embracing a new purpose
as it goes
complexity is gently brought to us
your multilayered language reaches out.
Thank you
And what about Asia?
I don’t know, really,
I’ve only met 2 undeviating artists
fighting with identity issues
fair enough
above all
me happy for being confronted with differences
Differences that subtle emotions eventually
unite us through a surprising feel
of simplicity
of complicity!
This a Thank You letter dear Cat & Maiko
with much love
Philippe.
Philippe Riera is a choreographer, metteur en scène, dramaturge, coach, and founding member of SUPERAMAS
Events
Cat Jimenez & Maiko Sakurai Karner
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
brut all over Vienna
brut nordwest
accessible
Nordwestbahnstraße 8-10, 1200 Vienna
Subway: U1, U2 (Praterstern), U4 (Friedensbrücke), U6 (Dresdnerstraße) Tram: 5 (Nordwestbahnstraße) Bus: 5A (Wasnergasse)
accessible
studio brut
not accessible
Zieglergasse 25, 1070 Wien
Subway: U3 (Zieglergasse), Tram: 49 (Westbahnstraße / Zieglergasse)
not accessible
Gropius Bau Berlin
Niederkirchnerstraße 7, 10963 Berlin