KMSKA LATE - THING by Charlotte Bouckaert

For KMSKA LATE, Charlotte Bouckaert presents a live performance of THING, a moving installation, a choreography of everyday objects and a body. On a large table – an arena for the imagination – temporary compositions emerge in which objects and the performer meet, shift and then disappear again. For a moment they are there, then they slip over the edge, vanishing into nothingness.

What are the contours that life leaves behind: “It is the fate of things and of all that one can possess to be born of darkness and to lead an inexplicable and brief existence in dim light.” (Bart Verschaffel)

With THING, Bouckaert shares her fascination with the still life in painting. Not only what is depicted, but above all how we look at things. Whereas 16th-century still lifes sought to depict objects as faithfully as possible, in the 20th century they became the starting point for sculptural and conceptual experiments.

Following 11 SECONDS, her most recent theatre production which brings a photograph to life, Bouckaert sets everyday objects in motion and allows them to evolve. In doing so, she challenges stillness and lifelessness, and prioritises the act of looking as a conscious and inspired action.

the object in sight
which seems simple
which seems as one
seems autonomous
which seems fixed
but, which, observed
starts to show its parts
and then in pieces
turns from here to there, jolted along
to be united in twinning, in outrageous pairings
(or remarkable or beautiful or comical)
in distant places
or loses itself on the spot, spangled object, in the light
excessive object
Henri Michaux & Roberto Matta, excerpt from Les quatre observateurs
(translated from the French by Charles Penwarden)

Credits

Concept
Charlotte Bouckaert

Performer
Marie De Corte

Artistic assistant
Bart Van den Eynde

Music
Nicolas Roseeuw

Technical Direction
Robin Appels

Technical Production & Props
Stan Wannet

Production
Platform 0090

Co-production
Playground (STUK & M, Leuven)

This production was made possible by the Tax Shelter scheme of the Belgian Federal Government and the Flemish Community, with support from the Flemish Community BE 2023.