The Rabbit and the Teasel

The daily live and survival

Two years ago documentary maker and artist Els Dietvorst moved from Brussels to Ireland. From a sheep farm in Duncormick she has worked on a film and internet project in which she follows the daily lives and survival of some of her neighbours. Their progress can be followed on her website.
The Rabbit and the Teasel paints a picture of the current human condition in Ireland today, as well as of man and nature in the 21st century.

The project develops the often anti-utopian themes in Dietvorst’s previous film work: social-societal conflict and the struggle that is life. Once again she starts out from her fascination with outsiders, people who radically change their lives and end up on the fringes. The Rabbit and the Teasel is the fourth and last update. The Kaaitheater presented earlier versions in Burning Ice #5 (2012) and #6 (2013).

In the film The Rabbit and the Teasel, integrally shot in the Irish countryside, fiction and autobiographical elements are interwoven into a lyrical tale that drags the viewer into a world of beauty, death, and decay. 

Following its premiere at the Kaaitheater, the film can be seen at Argos, in parallel with an exhibition of new work. The performance, film, and exhibition together form a pathway between city and countryside, between centre and periphery.