Body Relations
Examining Technology, Ecology, and the Body in Contemporary Art
Choreography · Performance · 2024
Through human evolution and the development of society, all internal and external changes have been reflected in our bodies. Can we make a clear distinction between digital and social influence? Are the digital, social, and instinctual aspects of humanity three different "bodies" that sporadically appear during our time on Earth?
The duet of a contemporary dancer and saxophonist immersively engages the audience on a journey of inverse evolution—from an automated and predictably oriented body, through social exposure and alienation, to a return to the animalistic, instinctual human nature.
Credits
Past performances
Recension from Jelena Guga
Together, these frameworks support a view of the body as a dynamic, transformative space—constantly shaped by digital layers and the broader conditions of contemporary life. Such views of the body are evident in Sonja Stojanović’s performance, where repetitive, reactionary movements express the body’s dynamic relationship with external technological stimuli—illustrating how autonomy and control are continuously negotiated rather than predetermined. Her performance examines the compulsive pull of seductive digital notifications, using repetitive movements in response to flickering lights and abrupt sounds to capture the body’s reflexive reactions to each digital cue. Set against the haunting strains of a saxophone, her choreography embodies the psychological tension between autonomy and captivating audio-visual digital control, illustrating how our constant connectivity governs behavior in ways that feel almost inescapable. Resonating with Michel Foucault’s concept of biopolitics, where technology operates as a mechanism of
Resonating with Michel Foucault’s concept of biopolitics, where technology operates as a mechanism of control over bodily autonomy and behavior (Foucault, 1977), Stojanović's work, nevertheless, becomes a meditation on reclaiming presence, a call to disconnect and rediscover the self amid the overwhelming influence of digital connectivity and condition.
