Heartscore – Maarten Heijnens & Anthony van Gog
“Heartscore is our second physical score. It is a composition in which the live heartbeat of the performer(s) forms the metronome of the score itself. The live heartbeat of the performer(s) thus determines the tempo at which the score is performed. Contrary to the classic tradition of a rigid conductor’s beat, we give the conductive function to the heartbeat. By doing that we create a tension between the organic/intuitive (of the body) and a rigid/rational framework (of a composition). A duality, so to speak, arises between the will of the body and the dominant brain. We want to offer space and give language to the body itself, so that we are able to (re-)meet each other at our most intimate and existential level; as breathing, pounding and living bodies.”
Anthony van Gog & Maarten Heijnens both graduated in 2019 with a BA in Performance at the Institute of Performative Arts (Maastricht). From a shared fascination with the body, its processes and its expressiveness, they formed an artist-duo.
Together they create what they call ‘physical scores’. In a physical score, the ‘body-as-instrument’ is centralised, not the musical instrument. Within their physical scores they create a field of tension between the organic body and the rigid framework of a composition. They search for the friction between the will of the body and the will of the mind, between intuition and reason, between bodily desires and rational submission. Here they see the poetic space open up: where the body comes to speak. In this digital era – where the physical/sensory is under pressure – they want to give the sensory body a platform and thus contribute to the relationship discourse between the organic/mechanical, the natural/artificial and freedom/submission.
Curated by Anastasia Loginova
Video by Erfan Abdi
