10 days Island Connect Residency at Sardegna Teatro in Paulilatino, Sardinia (Italy) with performance artist Linh Le – and we were so lucky to have Ambre Floris as our wonderful host.
Surrounded by water, isolated from mainland, as birds we travel over the waters, we pause and we rest with the island. We wander and wonder, we wonder and wander with the treasures, the secrets and the knowledge that are embedded in island.
Blessed to be invited. As foreign birds the island (its people, its beings, its stories, its places, its vegetation, its knowledge, its food) penetrates our visiting bodies.
And as our journey moves on, our wings are marked with traces of the island, we float and wonder what is archived in our wandering wings and bodies, what will the island traces (that are archived in our bodies) induce in the future.
The theater in Paulilatino is a unique edifice that with its oddness begs for reorientation and rediscovery. It beckons us to delve into hidden spaces, uncover the concealed narratives residing in its nooks and crannies, and decipher the tales it yearns to share with its visitors, be they performers, audience members, or others. As we venture into the vast expanse of theater space, we transform, becoming less of who we were when we entered and more akin to those subterranean beings of Bornholm. We shun the light, embracing the shadows, and defy the norms that seek to constrain the space.
These narratives extend beyond the conventional, embracing non-patriarchal thought patterns and innovative performance styles. Our brief videos serve as an open invitation to fellow explorers, urging them to continue the quest of unveiling the thrilling secrets nestled within this venue in Paulilatino. There, one can unearth myriad untold stories, fresh perspectives, and diverse performance methods, ultimately inspiring the reinvention of the theater space in countless exciting ways.
A tribute to the two Island Connect journeys: Embarking on a journey to explore the islands of Bornholm and Sardinia, we view the worlds through the perspectives and kind invitations of our hosts. Our adventure uncovers enchanting landscapes that hold the rich tapestry of past stories, healing wisdom, and the intricate relationships between humans and the non-human worlds. These experiences transform us into an interconnected collective, blurring the lines of where our creative inspiration originates – for in this entanglement, the source becomes secondary.
What remains unmistakable is the common thread uniting us – the island themselves. Within this entangled web of relationships, we find expansion. Our hosts serve as guides, generously sharing their knowledge of places, landscapes, and stories, and we, in turn, share the profound experience of exploration. As our collective awareness broadens, our conversations intertwine with the very essence of the lands, the flora, the sounds, the people and other beings, the skies, the play of light and darkness, and so much more that often escapes our immediate notice.
In this intertwined existence, we coexist with the myths and the mystical energies inherent to the islands, their landscapes, and the beings that inhabit them, including the mythological creatures like the fairies and the underground denizens “de underjordiske.”
