WORKSHOP/ LIFE WITH INK

A 4-day workshop to shed the darkness of 2020. It has been a tough year for everyone and a lot of collective angst and loss, are sitting in our bodies, minds and hearts. Through explorative exercises and intuitive painting, we go on a journey to clear or past selves from unnecessary pain and stagnation. As part of my work as a performance artist, in which I am working with transformation of anxiety and loss, ink has shown itself to be a very important divination tool, for self-acceptance, reflection and transformation. I am a firm believer in the magical powers of art and through this workshop I will share my insights into the transformative practice of performance art, through the medium of black ink. No training or background in performance or visual art is needed, only the drive to meet yourself, with all that you encompass. Through performative exercises, discussion and painting. Together we set out on a 4-day journey to cleanse aspects of our lives. 

Place: SIM Gallery, Hafnarstræti 16, 101 Reykjavik 

Booking: There are 5 spots, for this workshop and the price including materials is 25.000 ISK, which will be paid in advance. 

Please book your participation by sending an email to residency@sim.is.

Payment can be made at the SÍM office (during working hours 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Mon-Fri), with debit, credit cards. 

Structure of workshop:

Day 1 - 23.01.2021 │ 2:00-5:00 PM: Human meet Ink, Ink meet Human.  Decorate your personal ink bottle, with meditation.  Paint yourself before you were born in the center of the drawing.  Then paint yourself with your unborn baby self, inside of you.  Add two wings – one is your mother; one is your father.  Take a photo of your drawing, look at it at home.  

End of day 1 (Homework; Think of yourself as a magical being.  Ponder about what you are good at, whatever small and seemingly insignificant it may be. 

Day 2 - 24.01.2021 │ 2:00-5:00 PM: Cut out the baby – while making baby noises.  Performance exercises – resulting in birth.  We use the negative space as a stencil and draw ourselves as a child on a new piece of paper.  We mount the pre-life babies on the wall, at the entrance of the galley.  We then cut out all of you and use the negative space to trace the frame for your own personal SUPERHERO.  Take a photo of your new drawing, of yourself as a child, with the traced SUPERHERO silhouette around you. 

End of day 2 (Homework; Use your imagination and Imagine that you have superpowers) 

Day 3 - 25.01.2021 │ 6:00-9:00 PM: For one whole hour we meditate, with each our silhouette.  We then start painting our SUPERHERO selves.  

End of day 3 (Homework; go through your closet and find an outfit you haven’t had the opportunity to wear for a very long time, or even better, something you have never even worn. Use this opportunity to reflect on yourself, though your clothes.)

Day 4 - 26.01.2021 │ 5:00-7:00 PM: Exhibition, everyone can bring one person, that they trust and have a special connection with. Wine, treats, and reflection. And I can share my practice in depth if we collectively are in the mood.  

Michael Richardt DK/NI, is a performance artist, specialised in durational performance. He uses ink as a tool for divination in the pursuit of the highest self and beautiful and honest life. He trained as a dancer and an oil-painter. His practice also involves visual arts, sculpture, film, writing and music. He is interested in performative structures to evoke transformative spaces within an active observer. Tornadoes and other natural phenomenon's play a central role in his work and are used to describe human complexities. He is searching for a utopic non-violent language, which transcends across cultural and religious landscapes. Since 2012 he has worked with his heritage, making performances and film about his Danish mother and his Nigerien father. He is a sustained release of seismic and infrasonic energy typically associated with the underground movement of magma, the venting of volcanic gases from magma, or both. He performs a long-duration release of seismic energy, with distinct spectral lines, that often precedes or accompanies a volcanic eruption. Being a long-duration continuous performance artist from a temporally extended source, Richardt contrasts distinctly with transient sources of seismic radiation, such as the patriarchy and Freddy Krüger.