The emotional attachment to home is deeply rooted in our primitive instincts for shelter and security. Throughout human history, finding a shelter has been essential for survival and protection from predators offering a refuge from the outside world (the public space). As a result, our ancestors developed a strong instinctual connection to what they called home which tied it to our sense of identity and belonging.
focusing on the narratives of Friedrich Kurz a musical producer from Nürtingen who immigrated to the US and brought “Cats” to OperettenHaus in Hamburg, which was a hit in 1986 to then dream about making the city the musical capital. Until that day when Kurz came across the Rota Flora, the amazing ”phantom of the opera” should fit inside it as he imagine in the ‘88. Others didn’t want that. An alliance was formed. An alliance of residents, traders and autonomous groups. Protesting against concept-less urban development and alienation from the surrounding area. The demolition of a large part of the historic building in April 1988 that Kurz made brought to attacks against the construction site in June until the abandonment of the musical project.
In reflection on that historical story that drove people to unite against changing the urban landscape and emotional memory to the district of Altona in Hamburg, researching two similar buildings that connect with the performance.
“I Will No Longer Live in My Mother’s Shoe” is an Artistic protest against capitalism, sugar coating, and passed traditions in interactive actions as a form of empowerment and resistance through walking in the connection streets between “Opernloft” and “No Pasaran” to examine them as a radical form of solidarity between working classes and lefties movements.
Medium: Duration and Site-specific performance. Dur: 02:30:00
Year: 2021
The work was performed at STAMP Symposium 2021 Hamburg, Germany.
Supported by the Fonds Darstellende Künste, the Altona District Office and the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
michael(a) Daoud 