MadDoG
A knot can hold together contradictions. No one is pure in a colonised world. We all live by our contradictions. You protest exploitation while the next day you buy a new phone. You please and at the same time hate your boss. You separate your garbage but throw your gum out on the street. Thinking from the knot demands an attentiveness to how the material world is underwritten by violent histories. The knot exposes the way different material, historical, stylistic objects are tied together, as well as the way in which power is tied into and structures particular constellations. MadDoG disrupts the distinction between high and low:
Mum and girl walked calmly through the endless marble floor. Girl wore organic linen trousers, with a matching singlet and no shoes. Mum had no skin, several gold rings, and moderately high heels.
Mum: I would like that you call me fat whale…. It’s the name I’ve preferred since removing my skin. Girl, let my words echo through your chest. What if I was dressed as an animal? What constitutes ‘beast’, and what if you were fucking my ass? (...)
Girl: FAT WHALE I love you. I want to be in the ocean with you.
• Lydia McGlinchey was born in Australia and is currently living in Brussels, where she studied at PARTS. She is a dancer and performance maker, making her own scenography with self-woven textile pieces. Lydia previously collaborated with Alix Eynaudi on her project Noa+Snow, with Simon Van Schuylenbergh on his project Ne Mosquito Pas, she performs in The Honey House by Nathan Ooms and is part of the German Staatstheater project. Kaaitheater presented her previous piece, Feral, in February 2023.
artistic direction Lydia McGlinchey I performers Mate Jonjic, Lydia McGlinchey, Estefanía Álvarez Ramírez I textile Elena Vloeberghen & Lydia McGlinchey I costume Lynn Vanhoydonck I composer & musician Iris o0ryxss (Iris Joana Therasse Nicaisse) I light design Caroline Mathieu I sound design Korneel Moreaux I film work Keren Kraizer I artistic advisor Bojana Cvejic I co-research Stefa Govaert I vocal coach Fabienne Seveillac I production Kunstenwerkplaats I co-production Kaaitheater, STUK, KAAP & VIERNULVIER I supported by BUDA, TEXTURE Museum (Kortrijk) I with the financial support of the Flemish Community & the Flemish Community Commission
