not an island

The project focuses on the emergence of connections that are not understood as fixed structures, but rather as processes that are continually negotiated and transformed.

Movement is understood here as a fundamental connecting force—both literally, as travel between islands, and metaphorically, as a flow between artistic media, bodies, and narratives. It is only through movement that relationships between different forms of expression—as well as their tensions and interdependencies—emerge.

The project unfolds as a multi-layered spatial constellation that combines installation, painting, and live performances. At its center are performers and dancers whose improvised movement not only interprets the works but also actively shapes them. Through their presence and their dance, the space is activated; temporary constellations emerge between objects, images, and the audience. Movement thus becomes a language of connection—a means of navigating between forms, meanings, and temporal levels. With each individual work, the group of performers enters into a dialogue and creates new relationships.

A central premise of the project is to create relationships between different media without subordinating or appropriating one to the other. Instead, a space of coexistence emerges in which different forms of expression can coexist.

The focus is on open forms of connection that allow for diverse interpretations and parallel perspectives without reducing them to a single dominant narrative. This approach is rooted in postcolonial practice.

Conceptually, the project draws on literary and artistic references. Umberto Eco’s novel *The Island of the Day Before* reflects on geopolitical tensions and epistemological uncertainties, thereby drawing clear parallels to contemporary social conditions. Similarly, Coco Fusco’s work *Tomorrow I Will Become an Island* shapes the project’s exploration of colonial interconnections, navigation, and shifting conceptions of space.

At the same time, the project proposes a reversal: instead of discovering new territories on Earth, humanity is increasingly directing its drive for exploration and expansion inward. Nevertheless, the underlying logic remains surprisingly familiar. In this sense, the “island” becomes a relational figure—not as a place of isolation, but as a point drifting within a network of relationships.

The exhibition brings together participants from different generations, cultural backgrounds, and ethnicities, and views this diversity as an integral part of its relational approach.