Studio residency: Elina Waage Mikalsen
Published
Elina Waage Mikalsen is in a studio residency at BEK 9–14 March preparing for the world premiere of Stáinnarbánit – Wolffish teeth at Borealis – a festival for experimental music.
Repetition, circles and weaving characterise this new performance commission Stáinnarbánit – Wolffish teeth, from Borealis Artist in Residence, Elina Waage Mikalsen. Taking as its starting point the very short and possibly endless form of the luohti (joik) Elina combines electronics, vocal performance and weaving to allow small repetitions to tell bigger stories, including that of the rátnu. A weaving tradition once practised all over Sápmi, today rátnu is a living tradition surviving only in the sea-Sámi village Olmmáivággi of Elina’s mother. Stáinnarbánit, reffering to the name of one of the patterns used in the weaving tradition, will be a performance about soft and repetitive work and how all objects speak, if we just listen closely.
Stáinnarbánit – Wolffish teeth is part of Borealis – a festival for experimental music taking place in Bergen 13–17 March. In addition to this studio residency, BEK collaborates with Borealis on the commission work My Fathers Left by Amber Ablett and the Family Day at BEK. See the detailed festival programme at borealis.no.
Photo: Magnus Holmen