ARTAFRICAREVIEWSLIVRO DE TODO O UNIVERSO / PAMELA STUYCK
visually see the respiration of Livro through the movement of the performer. A second
actor becomes noticeable, a manipulator of the sound. Eight speakers, each one emitting
one word. Through this manipulation the audience can hear Livro’s heartbeat.“TOT ...TIBI...SUNT... DOTES...VIRGO...QUOT...SIDERA...CAELO"
resonates and fills the room, embracing all participants, performer(s) and spectators.
This indirect interaction between the two ‘actors’ recalls the historical activities that
took place in this specific chamber. A place where human error (activity) was corrected
(manipulated). Two so-called ‘correctors’ would proofread prints. One would read the text
out loud whilst the other made correction. The exhaustion of this activity is converted
into a two and a half hour performance, challenging the stamina of the performer and
the attention span of the spectators.With Livro de Todo o Universo Bianca Baldi reflects upon the modern European ambition
of gaining knowledge of the whole world. It accentuates slippages of language through
a staging of the royal translation of Hamlet by King Luís I. By linking the port cities
Antwerp and Lisbon through the literary figures of the monarch, the virgin and the
book, parallels are drawn to cartography, literature and the history of publishing. The
recording of this once-off performance will feature in the video installation functioning
as a soundtrack for the mise-en-scène created through sculptures, an eight channel audio
installation and a film.Luís probably preferred the literary life to politics and public affairs.
He did however delight in having drinks in the convivium, the maps for him were
mere abstract codes of journeys that they implied.
Journeys much like those of the his tragic hero, enter Hamlet (another monarch)
weighing up truth against beauty.Prologue to Livro de Todo O Universo, Bianca Baldi, 2015.‘The Image Generator II’ will form the context of a provisional preview of Livro de Todo
o Universo. The character Livro was brought to life following a residency at AIR Antwerp
in 2015 in collaboration with the Museum Plantin Moretus Antwerpen. This exhibition,
which will be on display for one month, is the result of a collaboration of four Antwerp
art institutes. Departing from a three-day happening, the boundaries between visual
and performance art will be challenged. During these three days spectators can witness
various performative actions on different moments. Traces of these actions will form the
foundation for the continuing exhibition that can be visited until the 28th February 2016.Pamela Stuyck is an independent researcher with a specific interest in modern and
contemporary art. As part of the research collective 'No Performance Please' she
investigates the boundaries between performance and visual art within different
artistic contexts.3/3