Why am I what you are telling me that I am
"Into this emptiness, I can't help but scream loudly."
On social media, the phenomenon of "loud" lamenting, self-presentation, commenting, etc., finds ample space and an unknown, yet seemingly large and interested audience. The opaque construct of algorithms, paid content, and filter bubbles seems to amplify certain information, people, posts, and videos almost infinitely; some people simply seem to have a louder voice, to become more present, to gain more space in the digital realm.
In Machern, just under twenty kilometers from Leipzig—just like in so many other rural areas—we find a different kind of noise: In and around the old industrial ruins just outside the residential area, near the old airfield, we hear the roar of engines, the squeal of brakes, drifting tires, and billowing clouds of dust. A group of motorcyclists meet to ride together, to show off their tricks, to test out the loudest engine noises.
Somewhere between displays of power and utter boredom, these two forms of noise converge. And it is precisely this tension that this work seeks to examine. Through the juxtaposition of analog and digital displays of power and noise, a transfer occurs that causes the supposedly complex structures of social media to collapse and reduces them to what they often actually are: a rather banal, yet artful, pirouette, accompanied by a great deal of noise about nothing.
With this perspective, we deconstruct a supposedly male domain and thereby allow stereotypical representations and displays of power to dissipate. Through videos and photographs, field recordings, and the resulting soundscapes, we explore these forms of sound and develop a choreographed and loud motorcycle ballet.
Performance
60 min
Leipzig, 2022
Funded by Bundesverband Bildender Künstlerinnen und Künstler und Leipzig Kulturamt.