May 27, 2023, 20:30
square next to the Białystok Culture Center, 5 Legionowa Street
free admission
Shaking hands is the simplest gesture of greeting, getting to know and reconciling. Currently one of the most problematic reflexes that we have left from before 2020. We are observing a change in social contacts caused by the pandemic and parallel political tensions. We are puzzled by the ubiquitous slogan: keep your distance so that you can be together again.
“Stretching” is a performative action intended for urban space or gallery space. The work was created as a response to the prolonged lockdown in the cultural sector which has a huge impact on the freezing of performing arts. It is an expression of the need for real contact with another person in the everyday – social sense, but also the artist’s need for contact with the viewer.
The choreography of the performance is based on greeting gestures, which until recently were reflexive. We show the progression of gestural forms that indicate the reduction of the cognitive distance between two people. We understand the need for restrictions during the pandemic and we do not question it. We only want to comment on the results of isolation and the crisis and evoke empathic reflection in the recipient.