Poulomi Desai, Merche Blasco

  • Music
approx. 90 mins.

Multimedia artist Merche Blasco explores alternative forms of performance by engineering collaborative spaces with instruments and technological assemblages that are given their own agency in compositions. Her body and the live exploration of organic materials are central elements of these electroacoustic works.

Poulomi Desai is a queer musician, artist, curator and activist with South Asian roots, born in Hackney, London. Desai will give an improvised concert using a modified sitar with a range of exploratory devices such as modified cassette decks, circuit bent toys, optokinetic instruments, kitchen knives, and massage tools. Their sitar forms the basis for her sonic improvisation, and is a conscious response to the idea of “authenticity,” seeking to break the expectations of how a “sacred” instrument should be played, and the assumptions made upon the identity of the player herself. It is an allegorical antidote to the objectification of the “South Asian woman's body” in Bollywood cinema / popular culture and, in a broader sense, affirming their personal manifesto of noise as protest.

Dates

Past
Mon 30.1.2023, 21:00 / HAU2

Credits

Supported by: DAAD Artist-in-Berlin Programme, British Council.

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.

HAU3000 / Positions, Projects, Publications

The Glowing Room

Text by Hendrik Otremba.

An Introduction to “Collectivize Facebook”

By Jonas Staal

“Collectivize Facebook” is a lawsuit aimed to turn Facebook into public property, initiated by artist Jonas Staal and lawyer Jan Fermon. Read here Staal’s introduction to the project.

“Manifestos for Queer Futures”

Video Documentation

As part of the festival “The Present Is Not Enough – Performing Queer Histories and Futures”, HAU initiated an open call for artists based in Berlin, who were invited to submit proposals for their Manifestos for Queer Futures.