Moschini/Popall

While preparing for their second feature-length work, «when mama was moth, I took bulb form», in December 2020, Moschini/Popall utilise «laughing into each other’s mouth» to shine the spotlight onto one of the fundamental aspects of their artistic creative process — writing. Writing accompanies their performative practices that sit somewhere between dance, theatre and visual art. The resulting atmospheres, dramaturgical strands and fantastic worlds form the basis of their work with the human body as a tension-laden realm of political interaction.

Moschini/Popall have invited the poet and performance artist Tabea Xenia Magyar to their three-day writing laboratory. Together they will examine the interfaces between their artistic practices and, during a reading and discussion session, provide an insight into their workshop.

Tabea Xenia Magyar is a Swiss choreographer, performer and poet with a a background in Philosophy, Political Science and French Literature. In 2015 she graduated from the Inter-University Dance Centre Berlin and is since then based in Berlin and Zurich. She is also a founding member of the performance collective BlingBlingRecycling and the poetry collective G13. For more information on the collectives go to BlingBlingRecycling Collective and G13.

Artistic Statement: Out of an on-going concern for the question of how artistic practice can be shared with others, Magyar puts an emphasis on creating the contexts in which she develops her work. Her point of departure is the search for intimacy as the promise of the possibility of solidarity. The creation of situations of vulnerability, the promise of universality through radical subjectivity, discreet political commitment and an attentiveness to performance as an audience experience are ideas which play a central role in her work. Her pieces are characterised by subtle offerings of complex thinking and a profound interest in the craft of dance-making and the materiality of the body. Much of her dance works are also based on drawings and written material. As somebody who is continually transgressing the boundaries of artistic and academic disciplines, she has a broad understanding of choreography as an attentiveness for the experience of the body in space.

In their performative works, Moschini/Popall explore the creative potential of physical symptoms caused by social situations. They are interested in the human body as a political narrative and explore the field of conflict between public exposure and intimacy. The short pieces A LOVERS’ BATH (2016) and VOLCANO (2018), in which Moschini/Popall explore the limits of sexuality, potency and powerlessness, mark the beginning of their collaboration and were shown, among other places, at Dampfzentrale Bern and Rote Fabrik Zürich. As a result of these two works, they have produced the full-length piece SOFT TISSUE in co-production with Dampfzentrale Bern, Roxy Birsfelden, Fabriktheater Rote Fabrik and Südpol Luzern. SOFT TISSUE was accompanied by Danse & Dramaturgie, a programme initiated by Théâtre Sévelin 36, in collaboration with Dampfzentrale Bern, Tanzhaus Zürich, TU-Théâtre de l’Usine, ROXY Birsfelden, with the support of Pro Helvetia and SSA Société Suisse des Auteurs.