Thoughts on self-analysis and self-identity have been repeated countless times since the dawn of man's intellect. Personal reflections on moods, personalities, wants, and identities plague us everyday; from wondering what you want to eat for lunch, to cataclysmic meltdowns questioning the direction of your life and its meaning. It would be preposterous of me to propose that my approach is anything original, or that the ideas I present are anything more than the musings of a young adult. Great minds before and after will surely produce more than I ever will on the subject. Yet, times when I question myself and my reality are the most primal, most liberating moments of my life, no matter how microscopic it may seem on the ladder of the world's great thinkers. In a way, Observatory is a product of years of contemplation.
I have long been fascinated by the idea of mirrors in your own self; the different incarnations that your mind produces when you truly delve into the abyss. Initially, the questions arose from a morbid (but healthy) pondering on suicide. What did it mean to commit something like that? To kill yourself is, in a way, murder of the self. In short, Observatory is about what it means to not only think, but to be thought about. Not only to question, but to be questioned. I don't think suicide is still a part of the equation, but it is with this approach of seeing yourself outside of your own confines that I wanted to create Observatory.
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Dancers: Malcolm Sutherland, Saúl Vega Mendoza
Music: Jacaszeck
Premiered: June 29, 2013; "Exquisite Corpse 2"; Schauspielhaus Staatstheater Nürnberg
Lighting: Ernst Schießl
Photography: Ludwig Olah