The Sirens
vocal improvisation group
In 2015, I created the vocal group The Sirens. The aim was to explore the female voice through experimentation and improvisation. Together, we created performances in which the starting point was always the voice – we searched for its extensions in bodies, spaces and histories. The group was based on co-leadership.
Selected performances:
Saying goodbye to the exhibition "The Beguiling Siren is Thy Crest"
Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
June 14, 2017
"The Beguiling Siren is Thy Crest" is "the first such large exhibition that deals with the siren in a contemporary way, combining different approaches to hybridity, national identity, and mythology (...) Throughout the centuries, representations and depictions of mermaids have been so diverse that the only thing they have in common is their dual, hybrid nature: part human, part animal".
One day, we became an organic part of the exhibition as a vocal group, practically reinterpreting the myth of the siren, working to transform the negative stereotype of the conventionally beautiful woman who seduces with her voice into a positive figure of a music creator based on deep emotions, embodiment, voice, and improvisation. We sang with the space and exhibits, sometimes interacting with visitors. The exhibition became a score for us.
Performers: Edka Jarząb, Aleksandra Kowalczyk, Miłka Majczyno, Karo Rychlik, Katarzyna Żytomirska
Malleus Maleficarum
Syrena squat
March 11, 2017
In the performance, we referred to one of the most well-known and cruel stories of violence against women, which has its roots in perverted politics and religion – the witch hunts. We started the story from times that seem mythical, when the woman-witch was the one who knew, whose opinion mattered. We asked ourselves, how the woman from the oracle and healer became an outcast, a filthy figure mocking holiness? What path did she take from innocence and closeness to nature to possession and entry into the dark, dangerous depths of night, forest, and hell? What's next?
In September 2016, the Black Protest began. Thousands of women took to the streets to express their opposition to the proposed law by the Polish government, which banned abortion in all cases except for saving the life of the woman. The performance "Malleus Maleficarum" took place in March 2017.
Performers: Edka Jarząb, Aleksandra Kowalczyk, Miłka Majczyno, Joanna Paluch
Celine
The former music school at 28 Mickiewicza Street in Toruń
June 14, 2017
Celine's biography from the Szymanowski family links the clues related to the space at 28 Mickiewicza Street into a whole: it's a tragedy of early orphanhood by her mother who was a famous pianist, an unhappy marriage, mental illness, the secret of persistent love, and a miraculous healing made by Andrzej Towiański. Celine is still completely overshadowed by her husband, so the street named after him and the location between the former music school and the psychiatric hospital seem perfect for exploring the herstory, which reflects many universal fears, signs, and threads.
Performers: Edka Jarząb, Aleksandra Kowalczyk, Sonia Kochnowicz, Miłka Majczyno, Joanna Paluch, Karo Rychlik
Curators: Kasia Kaczmarek, Michał Połomski