PROJECT

The Oceanographies Institute (TOI)

The Oceanographies Institute (TOI) studies the kinship between humans and oceans. It focuses on the relations between these two bodies of water, and on the affects and sensations involved in their encounters. TOI is an institute in the making. It studies intently the ocean’s mode of being and lets it guide its becoming institute.

TOI therefore explores the relations of hands to mud, ears to the breaking waves, feet to the feeling of sinking, rather than the ocean “in itself”, as if devoid of human presence. The Institute collects, analyzes and reenacts people’s personal stories about their encounters with the ocean. TOI uses microphones, speakers and the sound of the voice, or the sound of objects –a pencil drawing the sign of infinity, for example– as a means to summon the ocean, making it appear as if by magic, by recreating the circumstances in which it was encountered.

At wpZimmer, TOI will be assessing its activities in the past year, work on its website and podcast formats and define its desires and goals for the years to come!

Marialena Marouda

BE, D

Marialena Marouda is a perfomance maker based in Brussels and Frankfurt am Main. She studied philosophy and visual arts at Columbia University in New York and continued her studies at the Institute for Applied Theatre Studies at the University of Giessen. In May 2018 she completed the Advanced Performance and Scenography Studies (a.pass), a program for artistic research in Brussels.

Charlie Usher

1987 ◊ BE, UK

Charlie Usher (1987, UK) is a composer based in Brussels working with long duration, writing for live instruments, field recordings, static and rotary speaker installations. He is the founder and former director of Dedans / dehors / inside out, a regular series of experimental music in Paris.

Elpida Orfanidou

1981 ◊ D, GR

Elpida Orfanidou (1981, Berlin) is a Greek choreographer and performer based between Berlin and Athens. She studied Dance first in Athens parallel to her Piano and Pharmacology Degree, before continuing her dance studies in Arnhem, Montpellier and London. For her studies abroad she received the Greek State Scholarship. In 2009 she was the Greek recipient of DanceWeb scholarship at ImPulsTanz in Vienna.

Credits

Artistic coordinator: Marialena Marouda◊Artistic Collaborators: Elpida Orfanidou & Charlie Usher◊Outside eye and ear (inside mouth): Marcus Bergner◊Technical direction: Noé Voisard◊Workshop & Voice Coaching: Johanna Peine◊Production Management: Hiros vzw◊Website & Graphic Design: Open Source Publishing (OSP)◊Co-producers: Kaap, WAB 2020, C-Takt (2020) In 2020-21 TOI is supported by a development grant of the Flemish Community. ◊Thank you to: Q-O2, KAAP, Gosie Vervloessem and all of TOI’s interlocutors so far: T. v. A., C.B., P.v.C., A.C., N.F., T.G., C.G., H.G., L.J., P.H., F.M., L.M., E.R.B., T.V., W.V., G.V.