It is believed that the main categories with which the performative field works are context, space and time. The lab proposes to explore the phenomenon of Catastrophe. How through action, presence and voice we can relate to this idea. Our body, our attention and our common action will become our 'scalpel and microscope'. We will do 'simple' but challenging exercises, we will talk, we will try on the theme of the catastrophe through performative and movement practices.

The lab grew out of experiments and workshops by the russian art-practitioner Alexandr Andriyashkin in response to the gradual shift of the political regime towards an authoritarian and then totalitarian, an anticipation of disaster and an exploration of possible strategies of behaviour and living in the body. With the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the laboratory made a shift from a premonition of catastrophe to the catastrophe that had happened.

“IF YOU’RE WAITING FOR DISASTER TO END, THEN YOU’RE NOT IN IT YET”

In general, we can identify the following zones: in anticipation of catastrophe, within catastrophe, after catastrophe and ignoring — and examine our actions and presence in each of these fields. The term catastrophe is not necessarily war and can be interpreted as widely as one chooses: loss of job, death of a close one, cataclysm, divorce, just a feeling, etc. — any way, we can build up experiences, tools and discourse on what it means for the body, action, questions of guilt, responsibility, choices, living, surviving and possible strategies.