Sunkiss is four-hour piece revolving around the idea of 'slowness' in response to the acceleration of a once again rapidly forward moving world. In four sequences, Emirhakin, Negiste Yesside Johnson, Ratri Notosudirdjo, and Mylan Hoezen perform actions that stimulate energy and blood circulation.

We live in a time where our attention and even sleep are turned into forms of labor, being captured and capitalised upon; omnipresent connectivity, paradoxically, leads to a further disconnection of body and mind. The urgency with which the performance reflects on this condition is, therefore, translated into an approach that rejects emergency. Rather than following a script the performers endure in a slow motion — fully focused on the present moment. An emergent choreography arises whose full movements may only be grasped if the witness also endures.

The score of Sunkiss aims to create the experience of being close to the sun. Proximity, which can feel soothing and beneficial but also turn hazardous. The sound is based on a Shepard tone—a superimposition of sine waves with one-octave distance—creating a hazy, trance-like humming that helps both performers and audience to become further submerged in the moment.

Mylan Hoezen (1993) is a Dutch performance artist. His work stems from the desire to find harmony amidst the chaos of life and centers around endurance and self-awareness. In order to safeguard the element of play within a score, Hoezen constructs his performances in alignment with the fundamentals of a game, by creating a space with its own rules, time frame and appointed players. Researching the common power structures between performer and spectator, he assigns the audience members specific roles and focuses on their position within the work. As audience members are assigned different roles such as instructor, performer, or observer; their involvement transforms in the process from passive to active — further activating the work.

Sunkiss is made possible by:

Performers: Emirhakin, Mylan Hoezen, Negiste Yesside Johnson and Ratri Notosudirdjo
Sound design: Bergur Anderson
Lighting coordination: Jeisson Drenth
Photography & cinematography: Nicola Baratto
Stage construction: Arthur Jules
Graphic design: Emirhakin
Text edit: Lijuan Klassen and Lisa Jasperina Bommerson
Venue: de Appel, Amsterdam
Support via Project Grant: Mondriaan Fonds