The Mnemosyne Atlas, which was created by the art historian Aby Warburg in the 1920s, is a huge collection of images that brings together paintings, photographs of sculptures or events, and maps of the sky or of the world. Pinned up side by side, the images are extended, highlighting connections and echoes through time, suggesting to us new ways of reading forms, figures and symbols. In 2024, Zoé Lakhnati drew inspiration from the method behind it to embark on an exploration of imaginary worlds, gestures and photographs linked to expiring bodies. Whether they are dramatic, tinged with horror or theatricalised, from classical painting all the way to pop culture, the images are juxtaposed in our memories and inhabit history like a large haunted house. Which ones accompany us, consciously or otherwise? Stopping on the irremediable gesture of the end, This is la mort is laid out like a large ‘bug’ that can be shared.
Chorégraphie et interprétation : Zoé Lakhnati / Musique : Macarena Bielski Lopez / Dramaturgie : Antoine Dupuy Larbre / Création costumes : Constance Tabourga / Création lumière : Alice Panziera / Regard extérieur : Philomène Jander / Avec les voix de : Céleste Brunnquell et Suzanne de Baecque
Production déléguée : Association Mandragore / Coproduction : Charleroi danse, Les halles de Schaerbeek, La Halle Tropisme (programme IMMERSION / Compagnie Mathilde Monnier), Ménagerie de Verre, AtelierSi (Nouveau Grand Tour en Italie avec l’Institut Français) / Soutien : DRAC Occitanie, Kunstencentrum BUDA, La Briqueterie CDCN Val de Marne (résidence en simple prêt), Ménagerie de Verre (dispositif StudioLab), SLA Sète-Lisbonne Festival, De l’Impertinence – laboratoire artistique et culturel / Remerciements : P.A.R.T.S. – Generation XIII, Joaquim Fossi, Dora Pentchev, Émilie Dezeuze, David Le Borgne