suture — eunjuhong

Suture

Performance

20mins

Performer Barbara Altmann, Hella Dräger, Lukas May-Floor, Mira Mazumdar
Photo documentation Yegyu Shin
Video documentation Marvin Puscher

‘Suture’ refers to a stitch that ties the edges of a wound or surgical incision. In the history of Western medicine, from the 16th to the 18th century, 'Operating theater' was pretty common. The surgery or dissection of human and animal was performed infront of the audience as if it's some kind of a spectacle. After the invention of anesthesia and they realized that the crowd could bring the bacteria, the operation room became sterile and enclosed as how it is nowadays.

<Suture> is a 20-minute performance held at an insurance company office in Munich. In a cramped space filled with audience, four performers recite each other's medical records and take a look at wounds made with special film makeup. It is a performance that ends with self-surgery, where the performer sews up the wound herself.

This surgery is not filled with screams of pain, but the wounds on the body act as openings for the dead, open windows in the house of 'the body', ruptures, passages for excretion, and lenses through which we can see a panoramic view of childhood memories.
The act of self-surgery in this performance is a metaphor for trauma passed down through generations and the relationship between mother and daughter, who switch roles between those who hurt and those who heal.

Trailer 30 sec

Full version edited to 13 mins (original performance was around 20mins)