Dissolution is a collaborative multimedia performance interweaving queer, trans, Indigenous, disabled, and nonhuman perspectives to reimagine interdependence and challenge colonial narratives of memory.

Kolesova’s contribution examines the entwined fates of land and people through the lens of the Soviet-era peat mining industry. It immerses the audience in the harsh realities of peat mining through the digital game Torf Hero and its evocative characters: the Swamp Spirit, a spectral entity embodying the destruction of wetlands and the fire of resistance; the Indefatigable Woman, a relentless laborer scarred by industrial exploitation and unfulfilled dreams; and the Determined Man, a figure tethered to a crumbling past, unable to relinquish the remains of a dying industry. At the performance's core lies the connection between the Swamp Spirit and Juzgun, a resilient desert shrub—an intricate exchange of pain and survival, where destruction and renewal are inseparable. Together, these narratives—which the mainstream discourse often overlooks—confront environmental devastation, human endurance, and historical trauma, while daring to imagine paths toward regeneration.

Specifications

Performance
90 min
English spoken language
English subtitles

2024

Credits

Concept: Ziliä Qansurá, Jeanna Kolesova, Victoria Sarangova, Kira Shmyr
Performers: Miriam Cochanski, Ziliä Qansurá, Jeanna Kolesova, Victoria Sarangova, Kira Shmyr
Visuals: Ziliä Qansurá, Jeanna Kolesova, Irina Nodirova, Victoria Sarangova, Kira Shmyr
Text contributions: Irina Nodirova, Mira Gafar
Accessibility dramaturgy: Ari Althaus, Kira Shmyr
Audio description: Ari Althaus, Miriam Cochanski, Ziliä Qansurá, Jeanna Kolesova, Victoria Sarangova, Kira Shmyr
Sound and light: Georgii Malykh
Projection mapping: Bryan Schall
Graphic: Balzhima
Photo documentation: Louisa Boeszoermeny
Video documentation: Can Kurucu

Supported by

IMPACT-Förderung, Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt

Performed

10/2024 Ringtheater, Berlin (DE)

To see

Trailer

Excerpt 4 min

Excerpt 20 min