Theodora or The Progress: Becoming Dog | in The Grotto

Theodora or The Progress: Becoming Dog

Elise Lammer
Lucien Monot
Julie Monot

performance: February 8th | 5 pm
in The Grotto
Quadrado Azul, Lisboa

Dogs have proven throughout histories and mythologies to fulfill very important roles, often being the carriers of a knowledge lying across what’s visible and what isn’t; between consciousness and subconsciousness; life and death; wilderness and civilization. Recently the philosopher Mark Alizart wrote an essay placing the figure of the dog as thinker ― one who may know the true secret of our humanity. Shifting hierarchies, a dog’s submission is therefore anything but servile. When considered through the prism of equality, active submission becomes a higher form of humility, a soft power that can eventually lead to a dominant role.

Becoming Dog is part of Theodora or The Progress, a year-long project exploring the topic of empowerment by means of non-verbal communication. Organized by the research platform Alpina Huus, public exhibitions and performances will be presented and documented in various art institutions in Europe between 2020-2021, and later edited into a 16mm feature film.