Ship o’ Fools

The Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller have gained international acclaim for their sophisticated room and sound installations which explore the boundary between fiction and reality. Cardiff and Miller have designed a new walk-in multimedia art installation made from the hull of 1930s-vintage Chinese junk, which was presented on the green in front of the Hebbel am Ufer theatre. The work was inspired by Sebastian Brant’s “Daß Narrenschyff ad Narragoniam” of 1494, one of the most widely read German-language books published prior to the Reformation. As a moral satire, the book portrays human failings and vices as causes of foolishness and stupidity. Decorated with lights and objects outside, the Ship o’ Fools offered visitors a world full of stories inside, presented with acoustic and light-mechanical installations. A performance by an actor and active participation by the audience made the Ship o’ Fools a performative experiment that explored new possibilities of theatre.

Artists: Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller (CA)

Venue and schedule:
Hebbel am Ufer (HAU2) Berlin, 17 May – 13 June 2011
Theaterformen festival, Hannover, 23 June – 3 July 2011
Zürich, 19 August – 3 September 2011