A series of Occasions hosted by Fanclub & Isabel Lewis
Considered a celebratory and sensory gathering of things, people, plants, music, dance, tastes and smells, occasions take place in a decorated environment where visitors can come and go as they please. As co-hosts Fanclub & Lewis will unfold a specific dramaturgy, attuned to it’s guests and their energies, that includes dances, smells, music, and spoken address in a way that allows for conversation, contemplation, dancing, listening, or just simply being.

Easing the formalities of distanced observation often found within a theatre or exhibition context, Lewis is interested in situations that generate relaxation where the entire human sensorium can be engaged. The work evokes a garden, a site of modal mixing; a place historically used for different kinds of activities including philosophizing, erotic engagement, scientific research, meditation, socializing and romantic encounters.

Fanclub has engaged Lewis in an open dialogue around her live art practice over the last two and a half years, now inviting her to Copenhagen in order to create a series of site-specific occasions, including a new occasion format that will be made and shown at a local bath house.

Overgaden – institute of contemporary art > 9-12 February 2016
Fanclub and Lewis will work together during a week-long open process that culminate in a public occasion on the evening of Friday the 12th. Visitors are welcome to come and go as they please. Read more here

Sofiebadet Christianshavn > 17-18 February 2016
This particular occasion has been specially created for the different spaces within the architecture of Sofiebadet, and explores some of the vitalist themes present in the architecture of the bath house originally built in 1907. Danish art at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century displayed specific visions of health, beauty, and strength. How did these visions shape our culture today and what connections can be made between different eras in Western civilization in relation to the body? This artwork explores and celebrates the human form, continuing the long tradition of the nude in the painting and sculpture throughout art history in a contemporary way. Visitors are invited to partake in the usual bathing sauna rituals available at Sofiabadet while Lewis and Fanclub weave subtle moments of dancing, music, and speaking throughout the evening.

Specially created aromas, choreography, and music invite the visitor to slow down and enter a contemplative state. This artwork evokes the social and spiritual functions of the Ancient Greek and Roman bath house, a place where people of different social strata could meet, discuss, and share in an experience of beauty and well-being.

Supported by:
The Laboratory Stage, Dansehallerne

Fanclub has also been part of an occasion in Rügen (Aug-15), GIBCA (Sep-15), Zürich Moves (March-16) and at the National Gallery of Denmark as part of Copenhagen Art Week (Aug-16)

More about Isabel Lewis here