Airplanes & Skycrapers
Favourite spot in the city
On 11 September 2001 people all over the world watched on their televisions as two planes bored their way into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. This act of terrorism ended the western illusion of inviolability and changed the world for ever. At the Spoken World festival the Brazilian-American artist, designer and performer Ricky Seabra will present two solo performances in which he reflects on the consequences of this attack for the inhabitants and history of America. Airplanes & Skyscrapers is a perceptive and personal answer to the destruction of a beloved landscape. Empire, Love to Love You, Baby (2004) is a comic-satirical account of the insanity of war that broke out in the US immediately after 9/11.
Seabra has always been fascinated by skyscrapers and aeroplanes. When he lived in New York one of his favourite spots was the observation platform on the 110th floor of the World Trade Center. However after 9/11 the glamorous, romantic and futuristic associations were replaced by a sense of terror and vulnerability.
In Airplanes & Skyscrapers Seabra makes his images and memories tangible on stage by way of music, live animation and storytelling. He takes us on a virtual journey through tales of disappointment and hope. It opened at the nOna arts centre in Mechelen, exactly one year after the attack on the World Trade Center in New York, on 11 September 2002.
concept, text & performance Ricky Seabra | direction Andrea Jabor | production kc nOna (BE), Theater Gasthuis (NL) | video editing Guido Van Troost | assistant to the director David Lakein | music compilation Ricky Seabra | sound editing Marc Nukoop, Atilla Nemeth | computer animation Medialab / Atos Origin Engineering Services B.V. | special thanks to Christopher Figge, Ellison Pearson, Narendra Nandoe, Rob Van Der Stel, Don Giller, Beam Systems (Amsterdam), Fares el-Dahdah, Mounir M. Mohamad, Brigitte Belanger (Bellissima Stichting, Amsterdam), Jaime Lockwood, Always Mom, Always Alex, Always Philippe, Always Jan, Paul Van Den Berg, Martin Novoa, Masako Noguchi, Meg Grant, Nogueirinha, Matthew Waldman, Rasheed Abou-Alsamh, Little Shiva, Toek Numan, Flavia Souza, DJ Zupa, Anne Gentenaar, Lisa Anselmo (for sharing the tears), Brandweeracademie Provincie Antwerpen
