Here but not here
Inspired by the words of one of the incarcerated scriptwriters of the opera Barzakh, Here but Not Here is the collective title for a series of works that explore criminal justice and the punishment industry. These projects are grounded in transformative practices that address the systemic conditions enabling harm, and aim to ensure dignity for both those of us who have been harmed and those of us who have caused harm.
“I tell you, I’m not here. I’m not really here. My body is here. I’m not here.”
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The museum of prison design
work in progress
a collaborative museum project exploring the tense relationship between bodies and architectures of control
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Snakes and Ladders
work in progress, co-developed with Thomas Delanote
a musical performance about forensic psychiatry and the so-called ‘internment measure’, imposed in Belgium on people who are declared ‘criminally irresponsible’
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Barzakh
2024
an opera about the Belgian prison system, with a libretto written together with artistic collaborators living in detention and music by Osama Abdulrasol
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Heroes and villains
co-directed with Ewout D'Hoore | 2009
a theatre play, inspired by the music of the Beach Boys, created in collaboration with people detained at the Leuven Auxiliary Prison