Sublimation

Sublimation is a performative research project that transforms personal experiences of everyday life in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, into a rich and immersive sensory landscape. Inspired by my time living in a slum in the city, I wanted to explore the complexities of survival, faith, and human connection, using practices such as eating, fasting, prayer, celebration, and struggle as starting points. The work is not a direct reconstruction of Ethiopia, but a free transformation of sounds, smells, images, and stories collected during that time.

The title Sublimation reflects the process through which my personal physical experiences, rooted in Ethiopian daily life, are elevated and abstracted into an emotional and sensorial form. Elements such as prayer songs, folk dances, and the scent of incense were used to evoke the essence of that experience. I also collaborated with local people, interviewing them and inviting them to contribute songs, drawings, and ideas to enrich the project's dramaturgy.

At the center of the composition is the visual motif of a carpet, inspired by ancient Ethiopian designs. This carpet, a symbol of tradition and ritual, becomes the backdrop for a scene: a woman, a victim of war, whose body represents both suffering and resilience. This object, like the work itself, embodies the tension between the personal and the collective, between lived experience and abstract form.

Sublimation invites the audience not to passively observe, but to engage through their senses—sound, smell, touch, and sight—creating a visceral, immersive experience deeply connected to themes of memory, trauma, and transcendence. The work is born from a collaboration between professional and amateur artists, blurring the boundaries between performer and spectator, expert and community member, to generate a shared and embodied experience.

This work is not only a reflection on my time in Ethiopia, but also a meditation on the power of art to transform raw personal experiences into universal expressions of struggle, survival, and hope.

Collaborators

Rebekka Pichler, Eliška Švecová, Jana Štofaniková, Klára Aubrechtová, Tewolde Brhan (design), Biruh Alemu Alazie (music).