The Trivial Pursuit of Happiness
self-experiment no 4
La Bamba zwischen den Ohren von Sonnenauf- bis -untergang
or La idea: Una poca de gracia
lecture-performance, 15 Min., 2009
at Kunsthaus Baselland - performance-art-award-winner
La Bamba between the ears from sunrise till sunset
Maybe you remember the feeling: You hear a song and suddenly you are somewhere else: Inwardly there and outwardly here. Or the other way round. Or maybe you are somewhere in between? Is it possible to be happy in such a condition?
I came back home from a six months journey through foreign places. And maybe I am not back totally yet. It's a vibrating movement of feelings, a glimmering, shimmering condition. It feels like being present and absent at the same time. It is as if you look at yourself from the outside. And you are filled with nostalgia and longing.
In my performance I try to express this condition with music, songs and video-footage I recorded on my journey. What happens when I fulfill my own dreams? How does it feel? Am I really happy then? Or is it all just an effort of my brain? I will sing a song about it. I want to invite the audience to accompany me a short way on a journey without safety net. Maybe it just needs a melody, or two, or three? Quizas quizas quizas...