Subnormal Europe | Óscar Escudero & Belenish Moreno-Gil

The composers, multimedia artists and performers Óscar Escudero and Belenish Moreno-Gil created a performance that explores audiovisual fragments and follows the traces of European community. As a commissioned composition and libretto by the City of Munich and the Hertz Laboratory of the ZKM | Karlsruhe, the two artists created the performance »Subnormal Europe« for the Munich Biennale 2020. Moments in personal and social history are characterized by their fragmentary nature. In the linear movement of audiovisual progress of the past years, impressions of special moments in technical reproduction arise. These are often so exact that the original cannot be distinguished from the replica. How can this be experienced artistically? Where and how does Europe shape itself? Together with the alto Noa Frenkel and the sound engineer Sebastian Schottke, Escudero and Moreno-Gil will create live replicas of the such fragments during the performance. They will enter into a process that will be co-designed by the audience. The results of this artistic process, the reactions, criticism and effect on the performance by the online community will be collected and kept by the EU. The video offers a look behind the scenes of »Subnormal Europe« by interviews with Óscar Escudero, Belenish Moreno-Gil, Noa Frenkel and Sebastian Schottke. Credits: Óscar Escudero & Belenish Moreno-Gil (concept, composition, dramaturgy, direction, costume, text, video- and audio production), Noa Frenkel (contralto), Sebastian Schottke (voice) ZKM | Hertz-Lab: Ludger Brümmer (project management, interviews), Götz Dipper (project coordination, live-elektronics), Sophie Hesse (organization), Hans Gass (set stage & lightning), Sebastian Schottke (live-electronics, sound direction), Jakob Schreiber (sound recording), Bernd Lintermann (iPad-Software), Manfred Hauffen (technical support) ZKM | Videostudio: Moritz Büchner (technical direction video), Andy Koch (camera, live editing), Güzide Coker (flap & script), Xenia Leidig (video editing, set photos & videos), Peter Müller (camera video documentation) A coproduction of the ZKM | Karlsruhe and the Munich Biennial with kind support of Instituto Cervantes Munich. Collaborating partners: Gare Du Nord Bahnhof für Neue Musik, ZeitRäume Basel: Biennale für Neue Musik und Architektur, Wien Modern.