Dialog der Liebe

The existence of a pervasive and influential primitive man in modern society is an undeniable truth when looking closely at the issues plaguing a post-global American Society. Racism, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia, islamophobia, militantism, elitism, authoritarianism -- outcroppings not of contemporary society alone, rather, a plague of the primitive nature of American society. That is to say, rooted in the idea of America is a constant state of tension. This tension--between freedom and equality, law versus ethics, private wealth versus common wealth, between unity and diversity--produces isms that focus on the symptoms rather than the disease itself.

In America , Jean Beaudrillard writes “America always gives me a feeling of real asceticism. Culture, politics -- and sexuality too -- are seen exclusively in terms of the desert, which here assumes the status of a primal scene.” He continues, “America is neither dream nor reality...It is a hyperreality because it is a utopia which has behaved from the very beginning as though it were already achieved.” The essence of my work sits squarely in this theory.

The intricate relationship between dancers in the pas de deux is representative of the tension of American society. Between that which we acknowledge and that which we mask. Sometimes immediate yet still dreamlike, emphasising the beauty of humanity while suggesting a potentially toxic environment, this series elevates the primitive man in its current state in an attempt to accept the nature and fragility of our existence.