Elaine Mitchener, Vocals & Concept Dam Van Huynh, Director and Choreographer Antony Hateley, Lighting Design Michael Picknett, Lighting Ben Marc, Studio Technician Tommaso Petrolo, Choreographic Assistance
London-based composer and voice architect Elaine Mitchener explores her Afro-Caribbean-European identity and memory in her solo-vocal-movement performance. the then + the now = now time is an exploration of Walter Benjamin’s notion of “Eingedenken” – a historical consciousness in which the past is not understood and glorified as something closed and complete; a form of remembering that emphasises the past’s relentless presence. Against the mediating, conciliatory thrust of Erinnerung (memory), Eingedenken remains true to suffering in the past by refusing reconciliation with past wrongs.
Mitchener’s artistic work as a vocalist, movement artist and composer is permeated by the awareness of past and present forms of discrimination, post-colonial wounds and its effect on humanity. the then + the now = now time is an artistic quest to politicise the past, undoing and unsettling time and space, transforming notions of remembrance through performance.
"the then + the now = now time" is a work commissioned by Maerzmusik - Festival für Zeitfragen (2019).
BIOGRAPHY
Elaine Mitchener was born in East London to Jamaican parents. A contemporary artist and vocal composer, she has worked with artists such as Moor Mother, Mark Padmore, The Otolith Group, Sonia Boyce, David Toop, Tansy Davies, Van Huynh Co, Irvine Arditti, Apartment House, London Sinfonietta, Steve Beresford, Christian Marclay, Phil Minton, George E. Lewis, Jason Yarde and Alexander Hawkins. She is co-founder of the experimental jazz group Hawkins/Mitchener Quartet, founder of the electro-acoustic trio The Rolling Calf and vocalist of the ensemble Apartment House. Her performances have been presented at venues including (amongst others) the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, London's CAFE oto, the Venice Biennale, the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Southbank Centre in London, MaerzMusik - Festival für Zeitfragen in Berlin and the London Contemporary Music Festival.
