Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It is with great pleasure that we invite you to ‘Corpuscle’, a music theatre performance and a photographic exhibition by Alicja Pilarczyk (CH), Justyna Celeda (PL), Katherine Newton (CH) and Emilia Łapko (PL), which will take place in Gare du Nord, Basel, on 6th June 2023 at 8pm.
The performance is based on a story, dating back to 1942, when a Swiss couple, Marcelin and Francine Dumoulin, went hiking in the mountains, but never returned. It wasn’t until 2017 that a melting glacier had revealed their bodies in the mountain pass Les Diablerets. After nearly 75 years, their children were finally able to make peace with their loss. This story has become a mirror to reflect about letting go of the memories of an unexpected loss of Alicja’s father, thus feelings of grief, that can be universally understood all over the world.
The performance ‘Corpuscle’ is a work of three artists: Alicja Pilarczyk (idea, music, performance), Katherine Newton (set design, video, music) and Justyna Celeda (dramaturgy, direction). It also features the kind presence of Mrs Marcelline Dumoulin-Udry, the daughter of the lost couple.
The second part of the event, the exhibition under the same title, ‘Corpuscle’, is an inclusive part of the performance and is based on a research trip to Kenya that Alicja Pilarczyk and Emilia Łapko (phorography) made in February 2023 as part of the ProHelvetia Johannesburg research project and Transcultural Perspectives on Art and Art Education (TPAAE) project. During their trip they had the opportunity to study the funerary traditions of the country and learn about sites relevant to the traditions and rituals of its people. The results of this research will be presented in the form of a photographic exhibition on the day of the performance.
Alicja Pilarczyk – idea, performance, music
Katherine Newton – set design, video, music
Justyna Celeda – dramaturgy, direction
Emilia Łapko – photography
Gare du Nord, Basel, 6.06.2023, 8pm
‘Corpuscle’ is the 9th episode of Friendly Takeover, a collective of artists hosted by Gare du Nord.
Creating the event has been possible thanks to the kind financial support of:
Gare du Nord, Basel
Ernst Göhner Stiftung
Oertli Stiftung
Fondation Nicati-de Luze
ProHelvetia
Erna und Curt Burgauer Stiftung
Anna-Marie Schindler Stiftung
Transcultural Perspectives on Art and Art Education
Akademia Sztuki w Szczecinie
