Beirut - a city forever reshaping itself, caught in a relentless cycle of transformation and turmoil - stands as a symbol of how societies wrestle with destruction and rebirth. The city serves as a microcosm of a bigger picture - as the whole world reaches its limits, seemingly at the brink of a total breakdown, driven by wars, unchecked consumption and exploitation.
Matriphagy, the act of consumption of the mother by her own offspring, is a practice known to certain species of spiders and other insects. This extreme form of maternal care, in which the mother willingly sacrifices herself to become precious nutrition to her children, has shown to be an extremely favorable evolutionary behavior.
Inspired by the phenomena of matriphagy, I disclose the continuity of existence, an incessant oscillation of ancestral experience, from its quantic form, to one of its utmost complexities – the human form. The city of Beirut is cast as the mother—a city nurturing her progeny through a cycle of devouring and renewal. Her offspring, consume her essence, absorbing and digesting her remnants in a transformative dance.
Performed by: Nancy Nasr El Deen, Theresa Saleh and Yara Boustany
Sound design: Jad Atoui Light design: Riccardo Clementi
With the support of Arab Fund for Culture, Culture Resource, Amalgam Studio,
Montpellier Danse, CND - Centre National de la Danse, Paris.
Co-produced by Moussem – Nomadic Arts Centre, Brussels.
Sound design: Jad Atoui Light design: Riccardo Clementi
With the support of Arab Fund for Culture, Culture Resource, Amalgam Studio,
Montpellier Danse, CND - Centre National de la Danse, Paris.
Co-produced by Moussem – Nomadic Arts Centre, Brussels.