Works of Mette Edvardsen belong to the domain of performing arts, but also explore other media and formats, such as video or word. For many years she worked as a dancer and performer for Les Ballets de la Belgique Contemporains with Hans Van den Broeck (1996-2000), and Christine De Smedt (2000-2005). She has been developing her individual work since 2002, and has made several important and internationally-appreciated performances and performative action: every now and then (2009), Black (2011), and Time has fallen asleep Time in the afternoon sunshine (2010).
The action takes place in the town library. A group of people form a library collection consisting of living books (previously each of them chose one for himself/herself an important book and learned it by heart). Each spectator can borrow one of them – then they go together to the chosen location (library armchairs, coffee shop, park) and the book says itself.
The idea for this library of living books comes from the science Fiction novel Fahrenheit 451. It is a future vision of a society where books are forbidden because they are considered dangerous. An underground community of people learn books by heart. Books are read to remember and written to forget. To memorise a book, or more poetically ‘to learn a book by heart’, is in a way a rewriting of that book. In the process of memorising, the reader for a moment steps into the place of the writer, or rather he/ she is becoming the book. Perhaps by the time you reach the end you will have forgotten the beginning. Learning a book by heart is an ongoing activity and doing. Title of the action is a sentence from a book by Alexander Smith appearing in a book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953).
Books in Polish:
"Wilgotne miejsca" – Charlotte Roche
Wiedźmin- ostatnie życzenie" – Andrzej Sapkowski
"Tao Kubusia Puchatka" – Benjamin Hoff
"Gwiazd naszych wina" – John Green
Books in German:
"Faust" – Johan Wolfgang von Goethe
"Loslabern" – Rainald Goetz
Books in English:
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" – Hunter S. Thompson
"Bartleby, the Scrivener" – Herman Melville
concept: MetteEdvardsen
with : David Helbich, Dominik Smaruj, Ewa Chmielewska, Kamil Małecki, Katarzyna Stankiewicz, Katja Dreyer, Kristien Van den Brande.
production : Helga Duchamps/duchamps vzw and Mette Edvardsen/ Athome
co-production : Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), DanceUmbrella (London),Dubbelspel (STUK Kunstencentrum & 30CC Leuven) supported by : Norsk Kulturråd, Fond for Lyd og Bilde, Fond for Utøvende Kunstnere, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Flemish Authorities
http://www.metteedvardsen.be
