PETER GREENAWAY |
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FLYING OVER WATER (work in progress) |
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An ambitious project of classical dimensions in the tradition of Greek drama which is based on a series of exhibitions previously seen in Malmö and Barcelona with the title Flying Over Water. It deals with classical mythological figures that have relevance to contemporary ambitions – 1. the healing of the mind and body 2. the ambition of man to challenge nature and gods and 3. the expiation of sorrow and guilt to return to happiness. Daedalus and Icarus are at the centre of situations and characters that form an ever developing archetypal myth.
The extreme margins of destructive human behavior are represented in the pride and ambition of the master artist Daedalus, in the desire and exuberance of his son to fly, in the guilt and the sorrow of Daedalus at being the instrument of his son’s death, in Pasiphae’s lust for a bull, in bestiality, in the birth of the misshapen progeny, the Minotaur, in the murder of the Minotaur by Theseus who seduces Ariadne only to abandon her to Bacchus, all against the background of the tyranny of Minos. |
The project has been conceived in three parts. Part one will be an original performance drama (structured in 8 tableaus) where the drama of Daedalus’ service with King Minos begins. Part two will be a large installation with set-piece performances reflecting the hubris of flying. It will be
organized in memoriam for the death of Icarus, using flying-related texts, including the texts of Ovid, and introducing Ariadne as air hostess and Icarus’ lover. Part three is an original drama with a large installation-sculpture invented for the grand return of Icarus to earth.
(Excerpts from Peter Greenaway’s project outline) |
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