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Helle Siljeholm - The Sea of Rocks (Open Rehearsals) - Dantercëpies, Selva di Val Gardena

Helle Siljeholm, The Sea of Rocks, Preview on 31.05.2024, Produced by Lisa Gilardino and Bolzano Danza/Haydn in Co-Realisation with Biennale Gherdëina 9 Supported by Arts Council Norway and Norwegian Embassy in Rome

Helle Siljeholm’s artistic practice encompasses the media of film, installation, sculpture, choreography and performance. Through her multidisciplinary projects, often forged through extensive collaborations, Helle delves into the intricate interplay between human and non-human bodies within various temporal contexts — traversing deep time, the present, and speculative futures. Since 2020, she has been working on her long-term project The mountain body, in which the mountain becomes the protagonist of various imaginary worlds through a series of choreographic and sculptural interventions. 

For Val Gardena, she is realising a new iteration of her long-term project The Mountain Body, in a collaboration between Biennale Gherdëina 9 and Bolzano Danza. In The Sea Of Rocks the mountain is not only the setting for this performative action, but also the visual, physical, spiritual and artistic basis of the work. The human body enters into an unusual exchange with the superhuman body of the mountain in order to open up alternative perspectives on nature in this encounter. Over millions of years, the collision between The Euro- Asian and African continental plates caused the upward motion that created the rock formations of the Dolomites from the depths of the sea. Combining complex climbing techniques, swimming-like movements, fable-like costumes and a soundscape composed live for the audience, the performance on the Cirspitze in Val Gardena explores relations between the mountain, sea and erosion. In this way, the site becomes the starting point for a new narrative about the multiple connections and interdependencies between humans and nature, also against the backdrop of the ecological crisis we are currently facing. (S.G.)

HELLE SILJEHOLM

Helle Siljeholm (1981, Tromsø, Norway) is based in Oslo. Her work often involves extensive collaboration across a range of artistic and academic disciplines. She holds a Bachelor degree in contemporary dance from London Contemporary Dance School, and a MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo. Exhibitions and performances include MUNCH Museum and The Munch Triennial, Oslo; PCAI. Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative, Piraeus; Athens Biennale; Centre for Electronic Arts, Bergen; Høstscena, Ålesund; Jugendstilsenteret og KUBE/ VITI Museum, Sunnmøre; Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; Black Box Theater, Kunstnernes Hus, and Oslo Kunsaorening, Oslo; VEGA I ARTS, Copenhagen; National Gallery of Iceland; Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival and more. She is currently a research fellow in Oslo National Academy of The Arts (KHIO).

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Helle Siljeholm - The Sea of Rocks (Open Rehearsals) - Dantercëpies, Selva di Val Gardena

Helle Siljeholm, The Sea of Rocks, Preview on 31.05.2024, Produced by Lisa Gilardino and Bolzano Danza/Haydn in Co-Realisation with Biennale Gherdëina 9 Supported by Arts Council Norway and Norwegian Embassy in Rome

Helle Siljeholm’s artistic practice encompasses the media of film, installation, sculpture, choreography and performance. Through her multidisciplinary projects, often forged through extensive collaborations, Helle delves into the intricate interplay between human and non-human bodies within various temporal contexts — traversing deep time, the present, and speculative futures. Since 2020, she has been working on her long-term project The mountain body, in which the mountain becomes the protagonist of various imaginary worlds through a series of choreographic and sculptural interventions. 

For Val Gardena, she is realising a new iteration of her long-term project The Mountain Body, in a collaboration between Biennale Gherdëina 9 and Bolzano Danza. In The Sea Of Rocks the mountain is not only the setting for this performative action, but also the visual, physical, spiritual and artistic basis of the work. The human body enters into an unusual exchange with the superhuman body of the mountain in order to open up alternative perspectives on nature in this encounter. Over millions of years, the collision between The Euro- Asian and African continental plates caused the upward motion that created the rock formations of the Dolomites from the depths of the sea. Combining complex climbing techniques, swimming-like movements, fable-like costumes and a soundscape composed live for the audience, the performance on the Cirspitze in Val Gardena explores relations between the mountain, sea and erosion. In this way, the site becomes the starting point for a new narrative about the multiple connections and interdependencies between humans and nature, also against the backdrop of the ecological crisis we are currently facing. (S.G.)

HELLE SILJEHOLM

Helle Siljeholm (1981, Tromsø, Norway) is based in Oslo. Her work often involves extensive collaboration across a range of artistic and academic disciplines. She holds a Bachelor degree in contemporary dance from London Contemporary Dance School, and a MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo. Exhibitions and performances include MUNCH Museum and The Munch Triennial, Oslo; PCAI. Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative, Piraeus; Athens Biennale; Centre for Electronic Arts, Bergen; Høstscena, Ålesund; Jugendstilsenteret og KUBE/ VITI Museum, Sunnmøre; Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; Black Box Theater, Kunstnernes Hus, and Oslo Kunsaorening, Oslo; VEGA I ARTS, Copenhagen; National Gallery of Iceland; Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival and more. She is currently a research fellow in Oslo National Academy of The Arts (KHIO).