During the residency I want to research the moment of meeting oneself as a physical, material and performative process. I am interested in the inner dialogue and silent struggle that are constantly present within a person, but usually remain invisible. Working between choreography and clay, I will explore how tension, resistance, control, hesitation and exposure can become visible through movement, touch and manual work with material. Clay is important here not as a symbol, but as a partner: it has weight, memory, fragility and its own resistance. This residency is the first step in opening a new research direction between body, material, inner conflict and the fragile possibility of self-recognition.
Anton Ovchinnikov is a Ukrainian choreographer, performer, curator and ceramic artist currently based in Vilnius. He is the founder of Black O!Range dance productions and co-founder of the Ukrainian Association Contemporary Dance Platform. His artistic practice works with the body as a place of memory, conflict, transformation and political experience. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, his work has often addressed war, displacement, control, vulnerability and the fragile border between public and private experience. In recent years, he has also developed a ceramic practice, exploring clay as a material extension of choreography.
