Zden Brungot Svíteková

During the stay in Saari I will be diving deeper into the role of senses, especially touch, in somatic practices and the ways these various methods are distilled into creative processes. The touch has long time been inherently present in my practice and as part of a resent research-creation fuelled by geology and focusing on tectonics, formation and deformation of matter, the need to understand the workings of touch became a necessity. As part of the research I decided to address peers practicing various somatic approaches. And so in Saari I will be continuing and processing interviews, researching theory from the medical point of view as well as the one of philosophy and social sciences. I will be documenting myself on the methods and techniques in somatic and hands-on practices as well as spending time in the studio in order to test and practice the research with a vision to collect material for a new work examining the sense of touch and its nuances. And last yet not least, the residency in Saari would be a place to start a concept for a platform for critical reflection and a symposium on touch.

Key words for the Saari time will be: soma, touch, corporeity, communication, violence, security, intimacy, mutuality, power relations.

I am looking forward to have space-time to read, process and write. To have an uninterrupted time in the studio for a continuous daily practice and creation.  A coming wit great curiosity to meet and interact with the fellow residents to meet their themes, visions and approaches. I am also grateful to again be spending time in the countryside, which will allow me to continue the ongoing work rooted in geology and deep time of earthly movements.

Zden Brungot Svíteková graduated with a Master degree in dance from the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia. Her artistic work is anchored in movement research fuelled by a deep interest in the body, where somatic practices and philosophy provide a language she speaks to talk about palpating events happening in a micro and macro level. By her open collaborative way of work Zden experiments with the frame of black box by directly questioning the apparatus of Theatre. Her choreographic work takes the form of performances set in and for various spaces such as theatres, galleries or public spaces. It is bound together by long term interest in interdisciplinary dialogues across art forms and scientific disciplines, touch, memory, communication, process and the nature of collaboration.

One of the leading interests in her artistic approach is to create and to cultivate a space for personal, embodied expression of each individual. Since 2010 Zden has been in a close artistic dialogue with Barbora Látalová and is a founding member of association OSTRUŽINA z.s.

She also collaborates on projects in frame of young audiences, community art and mediation/transmission oriented activities in form of performances, creative projects in schools and participatory events or workshops.