LOOP/ Performance/ Leipzig

In 2021, Olivier Hölzl and Katharina Kawalle collaborated on transforming a Leipzig room through Hölzl's "Point of View" video performance, setting the stage for their subsequent "LOOP" performance. Departing intentionally from the room's administrative past, spray-painted circles emerged, inducing a hyperreal visual disorientation in Hölzl's three-hour video performance. Kawalle drew inspiration from a childhood dream, where the repetitive scenario of awakening at a breakfast table formed the thematic springboard for her free-form performance. The accompanying sound in the stop-motion video mirrored Kawalle's dream, featuring familiar breakfast noises. Her performance, documented by Hölzl with a quick-release camera, resulted in a 30-minute stop-motion sequence, treated as a performative work during post-production. Prepared a day in advance, Kawalle's clothing, documented in a separate video, symbolized the loss of individuality in an era of information overload. Her use of a fan during the performance served as a prop for non-verbal communication and self-expression. The editing process of the stop-motion video involved treating the raw sequence of over a thousand photos as a chronological performance. Loops, synchronized with breakfast sounds, intensified Kawalle's fan movements. No filters or effects were applied to the sounds, only adjustments in speed. Accelerated video sequences seamlessly merged Kawalle with the room, resulting in a visually dynamic narrative.