Neither naked nor going down the stairs

A nightstand, a chair, lamps, sheets. The setting could be any house, a little messy. But what happens there tries to cast doubt on what is common. And without saying a word.

Body, sound, image and absurd humor. In this contemporary circus work, all the elements seek to question conventions of modern life, decontextualizing everyday life. “It is a space full of illusions and visual ironies that are a complementary text to the body, in this desire to question what we take for granted,” says Andrés Labarca, director of the work.

The montage flirts in its title with Nude Descending the Stairs, one of Marcel Duchamp's best-known paintings. He does so to cite the unpredictability that characterized the work of the French visual artist. And also “it is a call to the absurd that comes from the unrestricted repetition of something, or nothing,” adds Labarca.

The montage was created by a team with training in contemporary circus, music and visual arts, with experience in Chile and France. The work premiered last year and has been presented in Santiago and Valparaíso.  

Director Andrés Labarca
Producer Macarena Simonetti
Performers Andrés Labarca and Jean Paul Mengin
Sound design Lola Lacanal
Music Jean Paul Mengin
Lighting design: Yury Canales
Set design Gabriel Tondreau
Exterior Look: Francisco Arrázola