Among them, Anne Imhof, who took the opportunity to present the third and final chapter of her opera, Angst. In our hyper-connected world where messages are multiplied by the second, it is hard not to think that there is always something important happening somewhere. More and more, we live in fear of missing out on what should not be missed or, worse, in fear of getting the news after the fact, even if only by a minute. Anne Imhof goes against that idea. Nothing essential.
Anything and very little is happening. Then, in the wake of its passage, she left an installation comprised of objects, scraps and a white, but sullied, space. They were eight in all, with one artist collective. Speed is very subjective, however. Standing before the remains of Angst III , one could feel like they showed up too late, like they missed the party. But there are so many things to see, so many details abandoned on and around the stage that this first impression eventually fades.
Beyond captivating the imagination, the Angst III- installation also suggests that elements should not be categorised by a single function or under a single definition. As in previous iterations of Angst [at the Kunsthalle Basel in June and at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin in September ], the back of the plateau was also used as a canvas to paint on during the show.
For almost four hours, the performers replayed the same scenes, repeated the same gestures, some enigmatic, others senseless, some visibly choreographed, others improvised. The group performed both on set and among the audience, thus pushing boundaries between reality and performance, life and its representation. Photo: Jonas Leihener. The Angst opera is a social metaphor, a portrait of an undetermined community where exchanges are coded, ritualised, and so ambivalent that they do not fit into categories.
Could it be seduction, repulsion, or both? Power struggles or mutual help and sacrifice? Ambiguity becomes increasingly apparent when several falcons — real falcons, with feathers and bones — take the stage.
