large space in the back of the mouth - Diane Mahín (2024)
concept, composition, direction Diane Mahín
co-creation and performance Unnur Birna J. Backman, Virág Anna Virág, Luz Bran
costume design Miruna Vlad
Photos by LNDWstudio
large space in the back of the mouth shares a dissection of vocalized crying as a sonic phenomenon. Crying, as a symptom of grief, pushes the bodily state of the crier to operate beyond control. In this sense, crying is ungraspable and exposes the crier to a state foreign to themselves. This state of unknowingness, as called by Judith Butler, reveals how humans are tied to each other. The sonic composition of cries is carried by, but detached from the individual performers in order to give space for the audience to engage with this state of unknowingness. Staying with grief allows a return to a sense of human vulnerability, to the collective responsibility for the physical lives of one another.
this text contains quotes and paraphrasing from Judith Butler’s Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence
more info: https://dianemahin.com/large-space-in-the-back-of-the-mouth