At the point of drowning

“There's a point between the sea and the air that is both and also not quite either.”

She is laying in a bed of water, surrounded by flowers, her dress is slowly intertwining with the water, its weight is dragging her into the sunless depths. She is dying. A sense of relief is melding together with her overwhelming sadness, a vision of peace lying ahead of her. She yearns for the release. She yearns for the water. She longs for the sea´s freedom, the depth of the ocean thrilling for her. It travels into her body, it makes itself home, water is all she has ever known. A full ocean inside of her, a full ocean surrounding her. She is dying, getting filled with water, no longer her body, a creature. Lost in the blurred lines of reality, altering, converting, becoming. Wanting, needing, yearning. To have it all. All the water for herself.

A point at the very top of the ocean that is constantly evaporating and condensing, where water yearns towards air and air yearns towards water. I think about this sometimes, the middle place, the struggle of one thing twisting into another and back again"

21:20

✴︎ 15min

Credits

Performer and creator: Rozálie Stárová | Mentor: Diane Madden | Co-mentors: Alba Díaz Muñoz, Guilherme Carvalho, Beatrice Zaveckaite, Kim Ramiandrisoa, Mashiro Tamura, Takudzwa James Felo| Musical composition: Hector Berlioz (La Morte d´Ophélie, H. 92) and Nicolas Dang (Whale Choir).

Inspiration and quote from “Our Wives Under The Sea” by Julia Armfield and the character of Ophelia from “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare and her depictions from different authors.

Special thank you to Diane for lending me a dress that has been with her through a lot. To Nicolas for saving me. And to Bea, Rünno and Martha for helping me get to the end.