BENO NOVAK

This work is part of an ongoing research series exploring the movement of bodies as dynamic, evolving systems and their relation to collective forms.
 

In MATTER, created with the Š.I.K. Youth Company from Slovenia, the performance investigates social structures present among animals (pack, horde, swarm, flock) and other living systems (microorganisms, bacteria, parasites). The work unfolds in a large space—ideally a gallery or church—where the audience can surround the performers. It begins before the audience arrives, allowing them to witness only a fragment of the evolving “matter.” The piece is ever-changing and unending, inviting the audience to experience how “matter” morphs, grows, and evolves over time.

Conceptually, MATTER reflects on the invisible, all-pervasive elements that shape our world—from the ancient Greek idea of air as the breath of the gods, to Aristotle’s indestructible substance, to Einstein’s physical qualities of empty space. The performance embodies these shifting, assembling structures, exploring how movement can make the unseen tangible.
 

CONCEPT & CHOREOGRAPHY
Beno Novak
 

PERFORMERS 
Anja Spasovski, Nadja Spasovski, Vanja Kolanovič, Vita Trantura, Nika Zidar, Jasha Robnik

CREATED WITH
Š.I.K. Youth Company, Slovenia

PREMIERED
3.10.2020; Minoritska Cerkev Maribor, Slovenia