Family to Nation is a role playing game, made in collaboration with artist Olivia Plender, that addressed the power structures.

The intention was to examine, with a group of participants, power relations and forms of authority in both the “family” and the “nation”. To do so, we created a series of short scenes using the group behavior techniques of pedagogue Paulo Freire. The event was advertised as a performance but the audience members became, in actuality, the performers. Forty-two participants divided into four “families” and role-played in a fictional kitchen, living room, sleeping room and garden. The event also involved Roman Snihurowych (psychologist, Charité Hospital) and Gökçe Yurdakul (sociologist, Humboldt University) who analyzed and modified the plays in collaboration with the participants. The discussions were moderated by Kim Einarsson (director, Konsthall C). All group members were then asked to reflect on their experiences and the role they had taken in the experiment. On the agenda were also more general issues like the role of the audience in performance, the activation of the viewer, and the possible social function of art.

Commision:
Perform a Lecture!
.Hbc / The OFFICE (Berlin, DE)
November 18, 2010, 7 pm
Curator: Ellen Blumenstein