The Monuments | Chapter 1 | Silent Whispers of Thunder
Kühlhaus Berlin
10.12.2021
Site-specific Installation and durational performance
Silent Whispers of Thunder marked the beginning of The Monuments project, an initiative set to unfold over 17 chapters through 2021 and 2022. The core conceptual premise of this inaugural chapter focused on blurring the boundaries between the stage and the public, treating performing elements as protagonists of an ongoing action where the audience effortlessly became part of the work.
The installation contemplated closeness, urgency, and self-realization through re-action and presence. A main focus was the division between the controlled, the structured, and the spontaneous, finding resonance in the silences and voids that connected the ephemeral elements. The artwork was composed of obvious situations (performance, spatial interventions) entwined with spread-out elements pushed into the space of the spectator’s perception. The final impact was designed to coagulate into a collection of moments embraced through each of the 17 chapters, accessed through recollection and dialogue.
Reflecting on the worldwide lockdowns—the chilling emptiness of the streets contrasted with the "river flowing with all possible pockets of life" seen through illuminated windows—the work viewed life as a "durational performance" of its own. Social engagement was a necessary component for completing the artwork, as each visitor entered the installation and became part of it. The chapter established the groundwork for the entire project: the initial plan serving as a foundation for immediate social-political re-action, defining the project’s main charge: the ephemeral and the constructed.
Project by: JAŠA
Sound by: Kalu
Performers: Giulia Facciolo, Melissa Ferrari, Noemi Veberič Levovnik, Anja Mejač
Text editing by: Noah Charney
Technical support and execution: Denis Metting with Jan-Moritz Meyer and Cyprian Iannino
Lighting by: Luka Gyoha
Production management and communications by: Rosa Lux
Residency management by: Jernej Gregorič
Rider: Felicitas Schirow with Liberty
Sound consulting and support by: Zlatko Širok
Produced by: WE.ARE Institute
Supported by: Kühlhaus Berlin
Enabled by: The Monuments Patrons Club
Special thanks to: Andrea Wenzler, Dieter Siegel, Griša Šoba & Leon Siegel
The Monuments trailer video