Sofie Vollquarz Lebech

Work for Live Art Denmark
2013: “(In)visibility” at Samtalekøkken

(In)visibility
We invited Sofie to perform at our Samtalekøkken at Kunsthal Nikolaj. In her performance, she investigated (in)visibility. For a long first part of the performance, Sofie sat at a table in front of a laptop, her face and body obscure, in the shadows. Behind her, phrases are projected on to a large  screen. They add up to a meditation on invisibility, identity, presence. We read in total silence. The last words that light up on the screen are: Light, costume, movement, emotion, voice. So theatre is introduced. Sofie finally gets up. She shines a floodlight into the high ceiling of the former church that is Kunsthal Nikolaj. What becomes visible here? No theatre, the bare walls of an old building that has lost its original purpose centuries ago. She places the lamp on the floor, turned to the audience, stands in front of it, her back to us. She takes of her dark street clothes. Now she is in a skin colored body suit. She starts to shiver, to shake, jumps, lets her body be jerked around in violent spasms. She stops, turns to the audience. More then 15 minutes have passed, and now we see her face for the first time. She tells us about a dream, a walk on a deserted beach. It ends with the question: “Don’t you know me by now?”. Lights out.

About the Artist
Sofie Lebech is a Danish director, performer and author of texts working solo and in collaborations. In 2006 she finished a MA in Comparative Literature and Modern Culture from The University of Copenhagen. Since 2003 she has made numerous research projects, cross medial performances, site specific interventions and installations. Some of the recurring themes in her work are the intersection between reality and fiction, autonomy, dreams of representation and the relationship between spectator and work.

Read more on her website.