Gaia's Corner

TRAILER

Performance commissioned by Julia Stoschek Foundation 
Presented as part of the exhibition:
Lynn Hershman Leeson: Are Our Eyes Targets?
Organized by Tabea Marschall

Written, Directed & Performed by: Shade Théret & Magdalena Mitterhofer
Music: Antonia Alessia Virginia Beeskow
Costume: Rudolfs A. Packevics
Photo: Ferry Mohr
Video: Arnold Trautwein
Sculptures by: Rochelle Goldberg (Wand, 2024, aluminum, dimensions variable)

Julia Stoschek Foundation, Düsseldorf 
in front of Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Grabbeplatz)
28.08.2024

Gaia’s Corner is a performance piece that takes its title from the myth of the Greek goddess Gaia, mother of all life. The title carries a certain irony: the setting and narrative of the performance stand in stark contrast to notions of naturalness and purity. The work examines how architecture and urban space shape perceptions of nature and artificiality, focusing on overlooked public sites—fleeting, in-between spaces that resist clear definition.

The audience becomes a silent witness to the aftermath of a daring shoplifting spree. Two figures seek refuge by a fountain in Grabbelplatz. Gradually, their stolen goods are revealed. What unfolds is a choreography of diversion and misdirection: the characters shift their behavior, their languages, and ultimately their appearance, becoming increasingly unrecognizable. At the same time, the mechanisms of surveillance that structure the square grow ever more visible.