SLEEPING CELLS
Agenda
Brussels
Zurich
Ghent
Berlin
-
"Sleep in the way I see it now, is something anarchistic, not in a destructive way, but dangerously constructive."
The Sleeping Cells are metal frames with hammocks in which people can take a rest. They can be placed outside or inside the theatre, or even in the city, in public places like parks, on squares, by the river, etc. They encourage passers-by to take a nap. The 10 Sleeping Cells can be combined with the performance of EXIT. Usually they are placed in or around the venue a few days before EXIT is to be performed.
SLEEPING CELLS
Sleep is about quality time, quality-living, learning, understanding, evolving. However, sleep is absolutely underestimated in our society: it is looked at as a complete waste of time. Sleep in the way I see it now, is something anarchistic, not in a destructive way, but dangerously constructive. […] During our sleep, the brain renders information on all levels. If we want to understand the world that surrounds us, sleeping time is essential. To be able to take good decisions in our lives, ‘we have to sleep on it’. […] Our way of living and the organisation of society do not permit us to take our time to sleep, and by this, to take the right decisions. Without sleep, our ideas and knowledge become superficial, like mass products, and therefore easy to be overruled. Our ideas become less dangerous. So in this sense, time really becomes a resource. It’s a beautiful contradiction: by doing nothing we are more productive and our knowledge is more profound… we become less fragile in a world with too much information and too much choices.
Kris Verdonck
Hendrik De Smedt
Credits
Concept: Kris Verdonck
Production: A Two Dogs Company
Product development: Sofie De Smedt
Co-production: Über lebenskunst; initiated by the German Federal Cultural Foundation and Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin (DE)
With the support of: the Flemish Authorities, the Flemish Community Commission (VGC)