The dictatorial space is a hybrid space established by the juxtaposition of scenes of dictatorship and dance performances. While researching and viewing many videos of military parades and welcoming ceremonies in dictatorial palaces, I noticed the almost practiced movement of the people present on scene. The simultaneous movement of legs while walking, hands when clapping, forming rows or other formations.. It feels as if they are moving on a stage. The language of the space surrounding them, the high ceilings, velvet red stairs, big squares, etc., dictates the idea of power, grandeur and must be an important mechanism to maintain this idea of the dictator and his power.
For me, I wanted to bring a new juxtaposition to create my own dictatorial space. A space that says something, that sometimes screams towards us, a space that dictates us. Working from the video collages I’ve made of the dance performances combined with the images of military parades, I’ve built up a choreography of eight steps. Greeting, turning, running, slowly stepping closer, standing opposite of each other, clapping, marching, falling.
These actions needed a spatial translation. By working with fixed archetypes: the column, the stairs and the arcade, each chapter is built up as a different scene. The scenes get their names out of ballet terms, once again referring to the staged element of the dictatorial space.
The notion of cladding and the aesthetics of nightclub bring an interesting juxtaposition forward in materiality and construction of the elements. They are no longer what they ought to be and materials like leather question the thin line between luxuriance and kitsch.
The outcome of this work is the dictatorial space. A space built upon sequential actions, as a choreography of dictatorship. Within it carries a very strong sense of otherness by the estranged and uncanny scenes established by these collisions.
