Alexandrina Hemsley

Sword and shield. Down. Down. Both of them down.

  • Film

This video installation shows different faces of British choreographer and performer Alexandrina Hemsley. These faces overlap, contradict each other, produce facial expressions, form masks. Hemsley tries to become congruent with each of them. In doing so, she touches on questions of identity and attempts to match self-images or exactly not to match them.


Hemsley: “An attempt to re-capture my identity out of the clutches of the daily colonial frameworks which through their all-pervasive nature, often force me to harden out of protection. A sense of trying to carry on amidst all this fuckery and re-train a fearless vulnerability. A sense of retaining my multiplicity and morphing the body’s narrative as a soft resistance to objectification and reductive representations. A challenge to myself – as someone who experiences heightened distress over my appearance to look in the camera for more than a minute. A challenge to the viewer to free their gaze from the familiar and identifiable.”


Alexandrina Hemsley has been working as a choreographer, performer and author since 2009. Her work focuses on dance and the body as a place of felt and embodied politics.

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Dates

Past
Notes:

6.+7.11., 18:30-21:30, 9.11., 17:00-20:00, 10.11., 16:00-19:00, 12.11., 19:30-22:30, 14.11., 13:30-19:00, 15.11., 9:00-19:00

Location

HAU2
Hallesches Ufer 34, 10963 Berlin

There are two marked parking spots in front of the building. Barrier-free restroom facilities are available. Four relaxed seats are available in the first row of HAU2. Tickets for wheelchair users and accompanying persons can also be booked via the ticketing system. If you need help, please contact our Ticketing & Service team at +49 (0)30 259004-27 or send us an email to
tickets@hebbel-am-ufer.de.

Latest information for arrival

There is currently a construction site on Hallesches Ufer between Wilhelmstraße and Möckernbrücke underground station. There is a divided replacement route for pedestrians (right) and cyclists (left), which are separated by a yellow ground line. The carriageway is narrowed to one lane.

Travelling to HAU2 via U Hallesches Tor:

If you are coming from Hallesches Tor underground station, you will have to use an alternative footpath from Wilhelmstraße / Hallesches Ufer junction, which is separated from the carriageway by a construction fence – the actual footpath is currently closed. Please note: the alternative route is also used by cyclists. Pedestrians should keep to the right. We therefore currently recommend that visually impaired or blind visitors come to the HAU with an accompanying person.

Arrival HAU2 via U Möckernbrücke:

When you leave Möckernbrücke underground station, please stay on the footpath on the canal side until you reach Hallesches Ufer / Großbeerenstraße junction – the opposite side is currently closed due to construction work.

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