Ehemann-Little-Collaborations

Daniela Ehemann and Carron Little have been working together on collaborative projects since 2013. Ehemann is based in Berlin and Little is based in Chicago and together they have been engaged in a conversation that draws on the "locale" of each city. Together they draw on their own artistic practices of drawing, poetry, sculpture and performance to create performance and installations that speak to the current moments in our cities. 

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

Soul by Daniela Ehemann & Carron Little (Rough cut)

In February 2019, Carron and Daniela worked on a new performance for video. Their collaborative practice began in 2013 after they while being in the same exhibition…

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

02.07.19 Day 4

Daniela working on the finishing touches of the body sculptures.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

02.07.19 Day 4

Daniela finished the wing constructions that will form our body sculptures and then stand as independent structure onsite. Then we both worked till late last night in the studio painting them.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

02.05.19 Day 3

Carron ready to do some carpentry to build the structures. A bit of jigsawing and drilling and then we will chisel out some of the square joints.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

02.05.19 Day 3

Measuring body sculpture for Carron.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

02.05.19 Day 3

Daniela in the studio measuring a section of the body sculpture.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

02.04.19 EhemannLittle Collaboration

Exquisite drawings created by Daniela Ehemann on Day 2 of our collaboration in the studio working from a photograph of the remnants from one of our previous performances entitled Hitchhike to Utopia. We are using these images to inspire sculptures that will be attached to our bodies thinking about drawing in space, architecture and support structures.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

02.03.19 Day 1 EhemannLittle Collaboration

Daniela has arrived in Chicago to work with Carron on our next performance collaboration. After seven years of working on projects together and developing ideas we get into our flow quickly. Here we are in the studio starting to brainstorm ideas and coming up with a plan for the week.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

ZeiT by Daniela Ehemann & Carron Little

Ehemann and Little have been collaborating on art projects since 2013. This performance was created for the Berlin Performing Arts Festival on June 8, 2018. The…

Ehemann and Little have been collaborating on performance, film and interactive work since 2013 after meeting in a curated exhibition at 6018North in 2012. Their collaborative practice focuses on a dialogue between Berlin and Chicago initially focusing on the architectural influences between the two cities. Our latest collaborative work grew out of a dialogue and was inspired by Durer’s concepts that the precision of thinking is linked to the precision of drawing. The connection between thought and the act of writing became an active tool we used to write a poem thinking about the relationship between real space and the virtual. Our performative work depends on digital technology to become present, using skype as a material to explore presence and absence. The collaborative poem oscillates between an esoteric discourse that draws directly from our personal experiences of human relationships and yet uses Brechtian devices to mirror the stage directions that are being reflected on the screen.

The duality between presence and absence is a current theme in our work. Cixous discusses the idea of “I” as in the subject and the imperative need for women to claim our subjectivity in language. As women, we often experience situations where our presence is annihilated in language and there is an imperative need for society to address this concern. The performance explores the constant struggle we have to become the subject and explore the subliminal space in language between presence and absence.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

Big thanks to everyone who came to the performance in Berlin on June 8. Here is Carron Little spitting poetry from her location in Switzerland that was skyped in for the performance Hear/Here, Z ei T by Daniela Ehemann and Carron Little. We are working on the video documentation of the performance that we hope to post next week.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

The costume arrived in Berlin - with gold lippy which is always a little stressful as only 72% of Chicago mail is delivered but we are so happy it has arrived already. Big thanks Post People for looking after the art! Daniela had a dress rehearsal in Berlin with the organizers and we are super excited about the other performances but we won’t give anything away here. Daniela has sorted out her look for the day. One more rehearsal in the same time zone and we will be as ready as we will ever be. But we are both thankful for the creative collaboration because it pushes us both to think in new ways about our practice. 

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

Two more rehearsals today timing our performance. We've had to cut down the poem but you can read the full version here. One more rehearsal across time zones before we will be in the same time zone performing in Berlin next week.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

Hear/Here, Z ei T

Collaborative Poem by Daniela Ehemann and Carron Little  (3rd Edition)

I, is the meaning of me and you You and me Presence and absence connecting in moments melted in white sand dust surrounded by a membrane of protection trying to let go of inside

no view of the future if you look behind

across time zones Z ei t Connected

Searching for a grain of salt Hidden in eternity erased in a second written over let it go with dark lightness

Like a gold bird diving into water

existence of inside and out Z ei t

colliding with oxygen to breath creative air united in plurality accepting otherness

Tasting sweet salty emotions pictured in memories melting in mouth music, skin searching, feeling truth, for real meaning for me, as a part of you

Over the past month we have collaborated on writing this poem to inspired the performance we are creating to be performed next week in Berlin.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

Five days of Performing Arts...check out the full schedule and program here.

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

I just found these two photos from our very first skype performance rehearsal in 2013 in preparation for Cities of a Floating World. If’s funny to look at these and then reflect on the piece we’re in the process of developing for our next performance in Berlin. 

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

Rehearsal by Daniela Ehemann and Carron Little, 2018

Getting ready for our next collaborative performance in Berlin on June 8, 2018. It’s at times like these when I really love working collaboratively, it takes you to those unknown places that at a greater depth to your work and inspire one’s own studio practice.

This performance will be part virtual and part real going back inspired by our very first performance, Cities of a Floating World.

Photo by Daniela Ehemann and Jamie Gannon

[ehemann-little-collaborations]

Our next collaborative performance will be on June 8, 2018, in Berlin. For more information about the program please visit www.performingarts-festival.de