Transitions/ Distortions

Transitions/Distortions is a work in progress audiovisual performance, where different artists will explore the intense information environment surrounding us day and night. Using improvisational sound and image techniques, the project team invites the audience into a new environment of information flows - focusing on the physical, visual and mental processes of distortion.

The performers will create a pressing atmosphere consisting of facts, lies and manipulations, something that absorbs all conscious voices and slowly transforms them into a wall of white noise. 

Background
In September 2023, Samovarteateret gathered a group of performers and artists to explore the changes in the border town of Kirkenes, caused by the war in Ukraine. How has the outbreak of war affected the lives and thoughts of the people in Sør-Varanger, miles away from the horrible acts of war that are taking place on a daily basis?

Since the start of the Barents Cooperation, when the Kirkenes Declaration was signed in 1993, Sør-Varanger has acted as a bridge between east and west for two generations. Now we find ourselves in a long-term period of transition. The group of performers, visual artists and sound artists tried to figure out how the constant pressure from official announcements, frightening reports, unrest in social media and popculture phenomenons affect people's choices and behaviour. What does the distorted reality in today's world bring to a small society far away from any epicentre?

After our work in progress viewing last autumn, the artistic work has evolved. It will highlight how we are living in a state of constant distraction, how we stay blind to the chaos of information and human's inherent self-preservation drive. Using improvisational sound and image techniques, the project team invites the audience into a new environment of information flows - focusing on the physical, visual and mental processes of distortion.