“The practice of love is the practice of magic.”

Norwegian composer, performer and writer Jenny Hval presents the Belgian premiere of her multidisciplinary performance The Practice of Love. In collaboration with an international ensemble of musicians, vocalists, a performer and video artist, Hval creates a universe where music, text, image and movement blend. The Practice of Love focuses on the magical phenomenon of love, which Hval sees as the eternal drive for life, creativity and human relations. The hypnotic rhythms and references to nineties trance make Hval’s album The Practice of Love her most accessible, without omitting the surreal aesthetics and high performance value that make Hval one of the most groundbreaking pop artists of her time.

Ghent-based sound collective De zwarte zusters embody what ‘togetherness’ can mean in music. The company of young artists will bring an ongoing performance in Labozaal before, during and after Jenny Hval’s show. Using improvisation, De zusters investigate the tension between music, image and performance. The starting point for their hour-long performances is the quest for collective values and trust, in a performance where all musicians are equal and unstrained playing pleasure is key.

More info about The Practice of Love (English):

The practice of love is the practice of magic.

The Practice of Love is a multidisciplinary immersion in music, literature and movement by Norwegian musician, composer and writer Jenny Hval. It will explore sonic, visual and choreographic ideas while transforming voices, sounds and even bodies into texts, in a process that Hval herself describes as a form of magic. With a multinational ensemble including experimental musicians, vocalists, dancers and video artists, this new project extends Hval’s work into new and even more challenging territory.

The piece investigates the connection between life and art in a specific way - an umbilical magic, which brings together the possibility of creating art, creating life, and relating to other people, looking for empathy and a common language through speaking, singing, writing together. It also looks at the relationship between voice / presence / life and written word / absence / death: The voice comes from a living body, it is how we first relate to other humans, hearing our mother's voice and responding to it ... Whereas the dead body can no longer say "I", and the written words are the remains that are chiseled into our tombstones. Is being drawn to words a death drive?

Using sound, text and image manipulation, The Practice of Love is both a magical seance and an inquiry into the nature of creativity.

The Practice of Love is co-produced by Black Box teater and Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival. Premiere: 20 September 2019, Black Box teater/Ultima Festival.