project image
Petter Lønningen
THRENODY

first performed on August 25, 2018
Finse, Norway
performed once in 2018

ANETTE FRIEDRICH JOHANNESSEN

Bergen, Norway
anettefrij@gmail.com

THRENODY
ANETTE FRIEDRICH JOHANNESSEN

“Threnody” was a hymn to everything lost, broken, or out of reach.

Is the female body truly private? Where do we draw the line between individual autonomy and society’s expectations and demands? What happens when we try to regulate reproduction?

This is a performance focusing on modern femininity, political influences, and acts of freedom. The project investigates the right to make your own choices and to be able to stand by them. It is a performance for those who have been in the situation where hard choices have been made, where there has not been any right or wrong. It is about feeling fragile, cold, vulnerable, and hopeless—and at the same time strong and independent.

I found myself a stone to stand on, by the water. I took my shoes off and slowly covered my hands with white paint. In my right hand I held a birdcage, with feathers inside. The cage was covered by a white cloth. With a broken party horn, I blew as hard as I could, playing a tune filled with agony and sorrow.

Slowly, I opened the cage and thousands of feathers filled the air, carried by the wind.

The performances ended after 15 minutes, when the cage was empty.