“The underlying idea of the show is the following: if you look at me, then who am I looking at? And what does that reflect back to me? Where is the portrait really? The show emphasizes the multiplicity of points of view. But also: how to share a practice and create together.”

How did the performance come to life?

“The show is the result of a journey and a long process within the company. The project began during a residency at La Brèche in the spring of 2018 and the questioning of 'the image of the artist' and the links between the intimate and the professional. We needed to come back to globality with a wish to mix the living art (which is ephemeral) and the plastic arts. There was a clear desire to work with 2 artists with very different personalities and to realize their portraits: Camille Paycha (sangliste) and Sander de Cuyper (juggler). It was either with them or not. From the beginning, we wanted to combine circus and the creation of monotypes. We are obsessed by the traces we leave, inseparable from the humans we are.”

Is there a particular issue/theme you wish to address with this performance?

“In Portraits, we portray two very different artists: Camille Paycha and Sander De Cuyper. The show is clearly not about us, but about them. You could even call it a queer approach to the circus medium. On the one hand, there is the ‘autobiographication ‘ of circus material, making the link between the technical and the personal. On the other hand, the queering of boundaries between genres: Portraits blurs the distinction between visual art and circus art by combining the techniques of straps, jugglery and monotypes.” 

“The underlying idea of the show is the following: if you look at me, then who am I looking at? And what does that reflect back to me? Where is the portrait really? The show emphasizes the multiplicity of points of view. But also: how to share a practice and create together.”

“We confront different worlds, combining seemingly incompatible ingredients and hoping to make new encounters possible that stimulate creativity. The notions of pleasure and sharing through someone else's eyes are essential, the need to shift one's gaze to reformulate one's thoughts. Losing one's bearings and reinventing a language together. The show really speaks about the fascination of the other.”

Do you have any anecdotes?

“Initially Portraits were to be two separate shows. We started the creative process with this goal in mind and the whole creation process was organised this way. After 6 months of separate rehearsals, we took time to share the material with the two portrayed artists. The conclusion was that we would no longer work on two separate shows, but that we would combine the two portraits in one performance. As a result, Sander and Camille didn’t spend that much time together on stage during the rehearsals of Portraits.”

“When we started working on the piece in December 2020 it was impossible to physically meet and be together due to covid restrictions. So we organised a "virtual residency “ of 4 days. We met for 4 zoom-meetings of one hour and the rest of the time was structured by “missions” that the performers received by post. Each day we checked in online to discuss the new missions of the day and talk about the project. We even sent them corn to make popcorn. And we watched “Portrait de la jeune fille en feu “simultaneously, eating popcorn.”