Letters from Attica
In conditions of solitude – as for travelers or prisoners – people have often resorted to writing letters as a means of communication with their closests, revealing the very sensation of being in isolation. Sam Melville has done so from the Attica prison, where he was held on charges of sabotaging public property in protest of the Vietnam war, and where he would die during the Attica prison riots in 1971.
His and others’ voices in similar conditions connect the sensations of loneliness and the one of determination. In her artistic works Begüm Erciyas often uses sound and instruction to accompany the spectator in an experience that is deeply solitary and yet collective. For Letters from Attica she imagines for the first time a project for the public space. Multiple voices give a personal form to sound waves. They inscribe words in public space and generate unforeseen sentences. As a first encounter with the city, Letters from Attica is a search for means to let a voice travel from one to the many.
Bea Borgers
Bea Borgers
Bea Borgers
Bea Borgers
Photo by Akane Shirai, Courtesy of Kyoto Experiment
Inés Bacher / Wiener Festwochen
Bea Borgers
Credits
Concept: Begüm Erciyas Developed with: Sara Manente, Katja Dreyer, Gaëtan Boulourde, Maru Mushtrieva, Ayşe Orhon Dramaturgy: Dries Douibi Production management: Barbara Greiner, Klein Verzet Produced and presented by: Kunstenfestivaldesarts Tour management: Hiros With the kind support of: Workspacebrussels