An integral part of the exhibition In the Context of the Collection: Georgia Sagri: Case_O. Between Wars is Georgia Sagri's new performance City, that premiered on 19 September, 2024 alongside renowned New York actor Jim Fletcher. The premiere is now followed by two additional performances, where Sagri will perform solo. This performance marks Sagri's very first written duet and confronts themes of resilience, war, internal conflict, destruction, and renewal. Through the interplay of physical support and vocal expression, City encourages the audience to reflect on their relationship to war, memory, and survival.
The performance involves various attempts for one body to act as a pedestal or support for the other, while a monologue is spoken, negotiated, translated, and sung as the action unfolds. This dynamic physicality is accompanied by real-time sound editing, singing, and translation, creating a multilayered experience of communication and transformation. The title City refers to how the performers' bodies allude to structures akin to real estate – built, destroyed, and rebuilt – mirroring the human experience of construction and collapse, both physically and metaphorically.
Although the performance draws inspiration from philosopher Hélène Cixous's theater play The Perjured City, or the Awakening of the Furies (1994), both the text and the performance are completely new works by Sagri. The themes explored in City – resilience, conflict, and renewal – align with Sagri's ongoing investigation into the body as a site of negotiation, transformation, and vulnerability. This performance invites the audience to engage deeply with these themes in close proximity to the live presence of the work.
Cost: museum admission