In his latest work, Hamburg-based Tamil choreographer Anand Dhanakoti links the German word »Ātmæn« (breathing) with the Sanskrit term »Ātmæn«, which refers not only to breath, but also to the soul and physical memories. For the artists in Anand‘s international team, polluted air in the cities of their countries of origin is an everyday normality; these bodily memories form the starting point for an artistic search for traces. Breathing rituals from yoga and Kalaripayattu function as culturally coded memory practices. From a decolonial perspective, the focus is on the right to clean air and the ecological imbalance caused by outsourced industries in the Global South. An immersive structure of futuristic aesthetics, soundscapes, light pulses and scent fields allows Hamburg to experience what it means when clean air cannot be taken for granted.
read less