Hosti-pi-tility – ein Wortspiel aus hospitality (Gastfreundschaft) und hostility (Feindseligkeit) entspringt Derrida’s Begriff der ‘radikalen Gastfreundschaft’ und ist Ausgangspunkt unserer Recherche: Wir sind 4 Künstler aus 5 verschiedenen Ländern und schon lange in der Rolle des Fremden zu Hause. In dieser Kollaboration zielen wir darauf ab, uns anzufremden: wir suchen nicht nach Gemeinsamkeiten. Wir fokussieren uns auf Arbeitsmethoden und Denkmuster der Anderen die uns selbst fremd sind und integrieren sie in unseren eigenen Methodenkatalog. Wir bieten keine Lösungen oder suchen nach Konsens. Aber nach einem anderen Blick auf Fragen unserer Zeit: Angesichts derzeitiger Diskussionen über die Grenzen der Gastfreundschaft wird das Machtverhältnis zwischen Gastgeber und Gast zur zentralen Frage. Wie könnte radikale Gastfreundschaft aussehen? Ist das überhaupt wünschenswert? Unser Ziel ist es Andersartigkeit erlebbar und die damit einhergehenden Spannungsverhältnisse für alle Seiten spürbar zu machen.

Week 1

Hello. Welcome!

At first we shared OUR OBSESSIONS AND METHODOLOGIES. Juan went first:

Then Kinga:

References:
­Cocooned structures
http://pogledaj.to/design/cocooned­structures/

Then Alma:

References:
­William Forsythe
Essay on Choreographic Thought on ​http://www.williamforsythe.de/essay.html
And corresponding solo exhibitions ​http://www.williamforsythe.de/exhibitions.html
Website examining the organizational structures in the dance ​One Flat Thing, reproduced by William Forsythe  http://synchronousobjects.osu.edu

Kathryn went last:

References:
Inflatables:  https://vimeo.com/album/3714817/video/147149267
Then we started getting into touch with the space. We invited fictional strangers into the space and made their home be ours. We split into groups and created installations using objects and invented stories around those.

Installation photos:

Discussions brought us to the topic of territory. Derrida says:
Hospitality is the tension between the right of a guest to a welcome versus the right of the host to their domain.
So we discussed relationships/ tensions between host and guest. The symbiotic relationships
that exist can be broken down into three categories:
Parasitic ­ relationship is beneficial for one, and harmful for the other Commensualistic ­ relationship is beneficial for one, not harmful/ affecting the other Mutualistic ­ relationship is beneficial for both

This made us come up with a set of exercises that kept us working for the next days:

Exercise 3 lead us to duets between Kathryn/ Kinga and Juan/ Alma: one of both is invading
the other person’s territory whereas the other is accomodating the other/ enduring the weight/ support Aggression and care played a role in different scales.

Exercise 2 was manifested in a duet between Kinga and Alma, hosting and guesting, claiming
their domain and/ or invading the other person’s domain using parasitic, commensualistic and mutualistic relationships.

Through a daily dance practice we explore the awareness of body as a territory and body as
object. We have begun to figure a common language and ways of collaborating.
Simultaneously we focus on and bring into play our own specific fields (theater, visual arts,
dance, music..)

Side note: internet is impeting our process. Skype with philosopher and own research limited
because it is very slow in the theater and there is no internet at home…

In order to practice radical hospitality we opened an empty website to host whoever wants to
edit it. http://www.behosted.space
A few controversial responses
­> Decision about website ­ make pages / rooms based on the feedback we get from people ­
use the website to prompt or provoke people’s ideas of what hospitality is.

KH thought:
Pret hospitality, monetization of hospitable behaviour:
https://newrepublic.com/article/112204/pret­manger­when­corporations­enforce­happiness
Hüseyin Alptekin and Sea Elephant Travel Agency ‐ Hospitality/Hostility
http://www.inenart.eu/?page_id=8431