À Fleur de Peau. Adelaide Oval. Adelaide Festival. 28 Feb 16
Groupe F’s montrer son et lumière (sound and light show) for their return to the 2016 Adelaide Festival is entitled À Fleur de Peau, which translates to ‘On Edge’.
It is quite literally the case as our senses are bombarded by a spectacular display of fireworks, lights, and flame accompanied by an earthly and soulful ballad which underscores the performance.
It is a remarkable production.
A large screen, atop which sits a stage, is vividly lit with strips of light that dance to a thumping beat, cutting through one's skull and penetrating the very mind. Out of the relentless beat and vividly electric, conductive lighting a man appears to be born. One’s brain is blitzed as the pervasive rhythm continues, mimicking a beating heart – it borders on unpleasant.
A kind of rebirth is given to our senses.
And then there is silence.
Appearing atop the stage our performer, shaped only by the dotted LEDs that cover and define the outline of his person, begins a kind of journey; marching in time as projections of natural elements cascade below him. There is a spectacular kind of visual movement; a trick of the eye which makes one believe he is walking towards us.
Projections of earthly textures cycle below on the enormous screen; lava from a freshly erupted volcano; feathers of a peacock; the petals of flower; skin of a snake; springs of steel; green grass; orange sand; burnt terrain.
One is drawn onto the question of the relationship between the two; the individual and the textures of our planet. The work has been described as a “telluric ballad”, telluric literally translating to “of the earth as a planet, of the soil” the distinction between the man, the music, and the imagery grows ever clearer.
Fire is introduced, like an element to be controlled. And yet it also consumes us. Are we more connected to it than we know?
Oversize humanoid puppets – stick people – are set alight. They glow with varying colours of flame; green, blue, yellow, and red. Interacting like newborns in a mesmerising dance.
The intensity begins to increase for the first of many times. Flames burst forth from all over the stage shooting into the air in a timed display of light, power, and sheer heat.
One feels the intensity on the skin.
As the earthly substances melt away we are transported into space. The LED lit performers are hoisted into the sky by a concealed crane. They render up control of their bodies to the weightlessness of space. Galaxies of stars roll beneath on the screen. The sky is filled with slowly cascading embers from freshly fired fireworks; they light the night sky with hundreds of falling stars.
Outwardly the spectacle pushes more and more boundaries. One’s senses continue to be stretched and cajoled. Performers are suspended from flaming boxes; encompassed in spinning wheels of sparks and flares; they play out a battle of fire and light; it all peaks in a display of almighty flame and fireworks.
Groupe F describe the work as a “dazzling tale [which] addresses the complex relationship between man and his environment… the gradual transformation of a sensitive area is generated by a dual relationship between the individual and his living space…” It asks us to think not just on what is accessible to our senses in terms of sight, sound, and touch – but to consider what complex reaction we have to that deep down.
It is ironic then that so many of the audience remained disconnected from the work behind their iPhones or electronic devices.
In a display of sheer ignorance, many of those in attendance appeared to completely neglect any chance at immersion in the moment, choosing instead to record their interaction with the work like a third person onlooker.
This makes one think even deeper on what the performance is trying to say about our individual relationships with the world around us, and how technology and social online media has changed that.
One is then further saddened by the perpetuation of that ignorance online the following day.
It cannot go without comment.
Art is a vehicle for connecting to, and relating with, our souls and the will and expression of everything and everyone around us.
Groupe F’s, À Fleur de Peau is a 55 minute show.
I implore everyone to shut it down for an hour. Leave the technology behind. Don’t speak; there is time for that later. Live in the moment while you have the moments in which to live.
The performance was for one night only and sold-out. So if you didn’t see it you have sadly missed out this time. But if you do get a chance to see a work like this… don’t miss out next time, by being there and not being present.
Paul Rodda
When: 27 Feb
Where: Adelaide Oval
Bookings: Closed
