Garden on the Grave
WAUHAUS (Finland)Garden on the Grave is a gathering, a guided group wandering and a slowly unfolding mirage. The site-sensitive audio performance invites the audience to an urban cemetery, a vibrant ‘living place’, where cultural and ecological processes are inseparably intertwined. The performance celebrates how the living and the dead are bound together in the constant processes of vital regeneration. It draws attention to our relations and interactions with the environment and gently questions notions of individuality, exceptionalism, and what we perceive as natural.
Garden on the Grave gives time and space for contemplation. The performance subtly guides the audience’s perception and invites the participants to engage in simple actions both alone and together. It is partly an audiowalk, partly a death meditation tape.
Garden on the Grave premiered as part of the PARKLIFE performance series initiated by Public Performance (DK) in 2023. The series is a collection of site-specific audiowalk performances, exploring the public parks of Copenhagen as biological, social and cultural meeting places.
EASY READ VERSION
Garden on the Grave is made like a walk.
During the walk,
the audience listens to an audio recording.
They also do a few simple activities.
The performance takes place in a cemetery.
This shows people the world in a different way.
We often think that our lives are natural.
But people have different privileges.
We rarely think about death.
However, life and death are connected.
That is why this time the cemetery becomes a venue
for different events.
A city cemetery is full of life.
You only need to notice it.
ABOUT ARTISTS
WAUHAUS is a Helsinki-based multidisciplinary arts collective that was founded in 2016. The collective’s works are situated between different genres of art and they take place at various venues, such as small black box theatres, urban sites, large stadiums, and the main stages of established theatre houses. The members of WAUHAUS are artists Laura Haapakangas, Juni Klein, Samuli Laine, Jussi Matikainen, Jarkko Partanen, Heidi Soidinsalo, producer Minttu-Maria Jäävuori and managing director Julia Hovi. WAUHAUS is known for their comprehensive audiovisual stage aesthetics and methods of shared authorship. The collective collaborates with other artists and institutions both in Finland and abroad.
CREDITS
Concept, Directing and Design: Samuli Laine and Jussi Matikainen / WAUHAUS
Performance Dramaturgy: Tuomas Laitinen
Voice-over: Elīna Vaska-Botere
Sound: Henriks Eliass Zēgners
Research Assistance and Translation: Agnese Krivade
Producer: Minttu-Maria Jäävuori and Julia Hovi / WAUHAUS
Local Producer: Ance Ancova (New Theatre Institute of Latvia)
The performance was created as part of the EU Creative Europe programme project Festival SPA. With financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia. The New Theatre Institute of Latvia is responsible for the contents of the performance.
Date
Entrance
Tickets: 15/10 €Length
Location
Language
Accessibility
A performance adapted for people with visual impairments on Saturday 12 September at 11.00
Notes
Trigger warnings
Contains language about death and dying.
Suitable for audiences aged 16 and over.
Clothing appropriate for outdoors and weather conditions recommended.