Premiere: 16 September 2006, A4 Zero Space, Bratislava
Credits
Written, Directed and Performed by: Sláva Daubnerová
Visual Concept: Sláva Daubnerová, Eduard Kudláč
Dramaturgy: Eduard Kudláč
Technical Cooperation: Viliam Daubner
About the work
Daubnerová’s first authorial solo performance, inspired by the life, writings and personal diary records of French-American artist Louise Bourgeois. The work explores female identity, solitude, memory and the artist’s relationship to creative life.
Artistic approach
Rather than creating a conventional portrait, Daubnerová uses Bourgeois’s writings and artistic work as a starting point for a highly personal physical and visual performance. The body becomes the primary expressive material, bringing theatre, performance and visual art into direct dialogue.
Performance
Daubnerová is the sole performer, author and director. Through quotation and reinterpretation of another female artist’s work, she explores her own questions about art, artistic creation and identity.
Award
Special Jury Prize – New Drama Festival 2007, for Stage Concept and Direction
Selected international festivals and showcases
Festival Mitteleuropäisches Theaterkarussell, Vienna, Austria, 2007
Femfest – Feministički Festival, Zagreb, Croatia, 2007
Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée – Biennale Puglia, Italy, 2008
International Theatre Festival Small Inventory, Prague, Czech Republic, 2010
Performing Arts Market in Seoul, South Korea, 2012
Globo Teatro Festival, Reggio di Calabria, Italy, 2014
Artistic development
Cells marks the beginning of Daubnerová’s distinctive performance practice: by quoting and reinterpreting the work of another female artist, she uses someone else’s artistic language as a means of exploring her own questions about art, artistic creation and identity. The work established the foundation for her later documentary, visual and autobiographical performances, which went on to represent Slovakia at international festivals across Europe, the United States and South Korea.
