Oikos

OIKOS

At times something happens and I stop dreaming of the house and the pine trees of my childhood around it. Then I get nostalgic and I can’t wait to see this dream in which I’ll be a child again and feel happy again because everything will still be ahead, everything will be possible.
Andrei Tarkovsky

The house is a place. The house is our little universe, concentration and integration of memories, relationships and experiences. When we are in our house, we feel protected. When we abandon our home, we feel lost and sad. Our empty house, the place-home, becomes a mere space. Leave this place and see it being turned into space, means leaving our connections, go out of ourselves, removed from our certainties. Oikos shows a body merge with the house, with its walls, with the remains of objects that are remnants of memories. The voice, its vulnerability and fragility, it turns the body into memory, expresses their sadness and deep disquiet. Oikos combines together “extended vocal techniques” focused on the relation between voice, soundscape and acoustic properties of the place with performance art.

CREDITS
Original Idea and Artistic Director: Manuela Barile
Vocal Performer: Manuela Barile
Sound Recordings: Helen Petts (UK)
Video Footage and Editing: Manuela Barile & Helen Petts (UK)
Photos: Carina Martins (Portugal)
Sound Post Production: Rui Costa (Portugal)
Production: Luis Costa & Carina Martins (Binaural)
Support: Portuguese Ministry of Culture