Finding direction by wandering
“Getting lost and disoriented, wondering, not knowing, not having a grip on the world around you, ‘purifying’ through movement, gaining clarity through long-term walking… Not knowing (where you are, who you are, what comes next) makes us modest. Instead of naming and defining everything around us (the tree, the enemy, the sky), an experience of not knowing creates space for perspective, resilience, wonder, and creative impulses.” – Annemijn Rijk
About
The Lab is a sensory installation inspired by the labyrinth and all its myths, in which the disoriented body of the visitor becomes the wandering protagonist through one continuous, seemingly endless movement.
The Lab is rooted in choreography and phenomenology, the two practices of maker Annemijn Rijk. Drawing from both sources, the physical body and embodied perception are key in The Lab.
In The Lab, the form of a labyrinth is used to create an embodied experience of not-knowing. The spiral shape ensures that we can never look around the corner, that we do not know what awaits us. The path is unicursal; you cannot look forward or walk back, there is only the now. The form forces you to be completely dependent on yourself in a certain way.
The intention of getting lost is not to find your way again, but The Lab does offer an opportunity to find a way within yourself to deal with wandering. In addition to being an artistic experience, The Lab is also an exercise in shaping and dealing with an uncertain future. What skills should the human species develop, what responsibility should be accepted, and what beliefs and ‘habits’ should be let go, in order to create a world in which this human being (through his ratio and logical thinking) is not at the top of the pyramid of the right to exist, but in which he is an equal part of the circle of all life around him?
This is also the reason why the title ‘The Lab’ was chosen: It is an abbreviation for both Labyrinth and Laboratory. This labyrinth is also an experiment to acquire skills that we need to create a sustainable future. The audience is the protagonist in this work, but also a ‘lab rat’ who takes new knowledge and insights with him while walking through The Lab.
The Lab will premiere in the fall of 2025.
Interested in showing The Lab at your location? Contact us.
Artistic and scenographic research (June/July 2024)
CreditsConcept, choreography Annemijn Rijk – Scenographer Theun Mosk – Ruimtetijd – Guides t.b.a. – Music Aura Bouw – Costume design Annemarije van Harten – Technic Producer – t.b.a. Technician Paul Vliets – Creative technic development Cas Dekker- Business manager Milou Vogels – Graphic design Tessa Meeus
In co-production with Schweigman&, Ruimtetijd, Theater de Nieuwe Vorst, Podium Bloos, Schouwburg en Concertzaal Tilburg.
Made with financial support from Het Fonds Podiumkunsten, Provincie Noord-Brabant, Gemeente Tilburg, Theater de Nieuwe Vorst, Schweigman&
