matanicola (Nicola Mascia und Matan Zamir) / Claudia De Serpa Soares / Jeff Wood

“Intervention #4” is a continuation of matanicola’s ongoing improvisation series “versus,” which will be featured during the exhibition Checkpoint California. Expanding on their idea of two or more artists standing in opposition to each other, the series of events focuses on improvisation as a creative act. The goal is to allow a single happening to emerge out of each confrontation, each of which takes place in a different city or venue, and each time with a different combination of artists. The performances have a very flexible format, without any rules or long rehearsal periods, they seem as if they are occurring spontaneously. An instant composition is being created as it is being performed in front of an audience, exposing the fragility and risks taken during the creative process. The site specific performances are deeply inspired and influenced by the architecture of the performance venues; a reaction to space itself and a chance to discover and collect new choreographic material.

matanicola

The Israeli choreographer and performer Matan Zamir and Italian Nicola Mascia founded the Berlin-based collaborative duo matanicola after working with prestigious international companies and artists such as: Sasha Waltz & Guests, Batsheva Dance Company, Benoit Lachambre, Ohad Naharin, Emio Greco/PC and Yasmeen Godder amongst others. Their body of work, thus far, includes six productions: “under” (Kurt Jooss Prize 2007, created in 2005, in collaboration with Israeli choreographer Yasmeen Godder); “Ladies first” (2007); “What on Earth” (2010); “Piece of me” (2011); “To this purpose only” (2013, for and with the Italian company Fattoria Vittadini, “bodieSLANGuage” (2014); as well as an ongoing improvisation series: “versus” (2006).

Their work has been commissioned, co-produced and supported by Sasha Waltz & Guests, Sophiensaele, Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Tanz im August – Internationales Tanzfest and Radialsystem V in Berlin, Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V., European Association for Jewish Culture, Goethe-Institut and Grand Theatre Groningen. matanicola has been invited to numerous international festivals. In 2012, the duo was invited by the Festival Les Grandes Traversées in Bordeaux, to curate the twelfth edition of the festival entitled “matanicola’s Magical Mystery Tour.” matanicola has also been collaborating as choreographers and performers on music videos and live shows with artists such as Peaches, Hanayo and Mignon.