long-durational performance
“Birdwoman is born, lives, plays and dances until she disappears again into another world. We are silent witnesses of an organism in constant transformation between object-animal-human. The performance invites to expand our vision and to travel in a world that reminds us that the human body, nature and dreams are inseparable.”
Still a bird
In 2015 Rebecca Lenaerts started collecting bird feathers she found on the streets of Berlin. Collecting feathers turned into a ritual: first the washing, then drying and treating with cedar, then the storage. In 2018, with painstaking dedication, she starts sewing the feathers one by one on a blanket creating a feather cloak. A monk's work. During a creation process of nine months, Birdwoman was born. In ancient mythology, she is the gatekeeper between the human and animal world.
Still a bird is an intimate long-durational performance in public space, exploring the tension between the wild in the urban environment, between appearing and disappearing, between physical and imaginative realm.
Over time, the long-lasting "doing" of collecting and sewing feathers evolved into an inner search for gentleness and humility. The feather cloak becomes a tool for interdisciplinary collaborations and various artistic output; like the video Birth.
CREDITS: Concept and performance: Rebecca Lenaerts. Creation feather cloak with assistance of Sonia Anicéto. Movement and choreographic support: Tijen Lawton. Co-Production: HETLAB Hasselt. Photography: Mario Leko, Shana Boogers, Raymond Mallentjer. With the support of Flanders State of the Art, Sabam for Culture, CC Strombeek, GC De Kriekelaar and PUSH+ (Creative Europe). (2015-2025)