Secret Journey Series
Concept, Design, Direction: Yoshiko Chuma
Featuring Artists: Miriam Parker, Megumi Eda, Agnė Auželytė, Ursula Marcussen, Ursula Scherrer, Chani Bockwinkel, Edivaldo Ernesto, Devin Brahja Waldman, Deniz Atli, Dan Peeples, Nora Alami, Melanie Nehrkorn, Gáspár Bálint, Akemi Nagao, Grace Hoop, Lina Gómez, Melanie Nehrkorn, Yoav Admoni
Performance Photos: Volkan Aykaç
The “Secret Journey” project is an ongoing one. The “Secret Journey” series production started in 2016 at the National Gallery in Prague under Ai Weiwei’s exhibition: Law of the Journey which investigated the migration of Syrian refugees.
Another part of this performance series, “Secret Journey: Final Exam 5S”, embodied the American idiom. Wikipedia defines Final Exam as: “A final examination, annual, exam, “final interview” or final is a test given to students at the end of a course of study or training. Although the term can be used in the context of physical training, it most often occurs in the academic world.” In this section, each artist presented their own work. The part that is called ‘The Aesthetics in Destruction’ is created by Deniz Atli. This part of the ‘’Secret Journey’’ performance series was part of a residency in Dock 11 Berlin.
The part from the series called ‘’Secret Journey: Stop Calling them Dangerous’’ performed in LaMaMa Moves! Festival in collaboration with Movement Research. This performance enabled artists to explore their ideas and translate them into a theatrical language that can communicate to diverse artists and members of the dance community. It was also a place where emerging artists learned from established artists and where artists from around the globe shared works and ideas. Deniz Atli performed her monologue called ‘Heads Up on Myths’ in this part of the series.
Another part of this series was “Secret Journey, Stranger Than Paradise “. It was based on a story that moves along without any direct incidents. Five cities in the world connected, somehow. And these cities included Ramallah, Cairo, Damascus, Istanbul-Ankara-Izmir, Berlin, and New York. Mountains of correspondence, a nightmare of miscommunication, frayed emotion, botched promises and culture challenges, pinpointed the most important emotional experiences of how the audience perceives and understands war, its outcomes and why it happens. This part of the ‘’Secret Journey’’ performance series was part of a residency in Dock 11 Berlin.
Yoshiko Chuma keeps exploring on this ‘Secret Journey’ series in different cities and borders all around the world.