devenir fantôme – partie 2 (becoming ghost – part 2) (2024), collective performance, 20’, PROGR, Bern (CH), with Maíra Botelho, Loréleï Nelle, Nell Lechevalier, Daggo Abouna Doya-Djibrine, Laurent Fiorentino, Kate Bautista, Grandee Dorji, Nina Brügger et Roxane Christinet

Theorized in the 19th century, the language of the birds (la langue des oiseaux) is a coded mode of communication (wordplay, sounds, meanings) used to transmit esoteric knowledge outside dominant discourses. Drawing from this history, the performers move through the audience with their eyes closed, searching for one another through whistles and hums. When they find each other, they engage in rituals of sharing biological data (analyzing volume, warmth, and resonance), thus exploring a form of sonic cruising among the spectators. Once everyone is on the ground, they frantically chain together « ça va » (both a question and an answer in French), before singing together, with their mouths closed, an excerpt of Le sang de mon prochain by the band La Femme.

© Didier Vergel