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An extraordinary visual and physical performance that defies definition, INK weaves the acrobatic with the grotesque, humour with resilience, and in doing so captures the human condition. Summary
Rating
Unmissable!
An outstanding piece of performance art, INK almost defies definition. Created and co-performed by Dimitris Papaioannou the result is a mesmerising, almost cinematic explosion of visual art and movement. A production that is, in the main, conducted in silence the extraordinary lighting takes the form of another voice transforming the auditorium and stage from monochrome to glistening glamour, from stark silhouette to shining allure.
Papaioannou worked initially as a painter and comics artist before becoming a director, choreographer, performer and stage designer, the influence of his background clear in Ink’s startlingly visual presentation. Here he collaborates with Suka Horn, a German dancer and teacher who plays his son. The opening features Papaioannou turning on a hose and flooding the stage. The only sound is that of the water cascading across the stage as its reflections neatly dance across the ceiling above. An acrobatic, almost circus-like routine follows, using a glass bowl as both prop and receptacle. As the waves of water clear it becomes apparent another naked body is on the floor, squirming, under a plastic sheet. The sheet and water obscure the man’s features initially to the extent that the form appears non-human and featureless, almost translucent. Clearly a younger man than Papaioannou, their carefully choreographed duet transforms into a duel: simultaneously acrobatic, forceful, humourous, with a touch of the grotesque. They are each other’s opposites: one clothed and older, the younger naked, but to the spectator still similar in appearance.
Throughout the stage is constantly flooded with water and the performers permanently drenched. Wholly non-verbal, the performance relies on the sounds of the water and the visions of tableaux enhanced by lighting structures, to provide the narrative alongside their movement. Towards the final third the sound of jazzy brass tones intervene unexpectedly to lend a comic tone, before a crescendo of strings takes over to heighten expectation. An octopus (inspired, according to the programme, by a childhood memory of Papaioannou’s) is both prop and appendage. Highly entertaining, it is both suggestive of sexual organs and potency at the same time as channelling childish humour. It is this dichotomy that summarises this work.
Ink is an extraordinarily clever, acrobatic, hyper visual piece of work focusing on the strength of physical movement and connection heightened by the use of lighting and musical accompaniment. It plays on contrasting human emotions as the audience is often left unsure how they should react. It raises questions, but leaves the observer without answers. Barely over an hour in length, it nonetheless represents a durational resilience of performance that reflects the human spirit.
Created, directed and choreographed by: Dimitris Papaioannou
Ink plays at Sadler’s Wells until 2March. Further information and bookings can be found here.
