In the context of Bwa Kayiman–Lakouzémi, a yearly performance festival organised by the House of World Cultures (HKW) in Berlin to commemorate the Haitian Revolution—the uprising that led to the independence and founding of the first Black nation— artist Julien Creuzet and choreographer Ana Pi will premiere their new performance, Quatuor & Quantum—Larmes marées de la lune (Quartet & Quantum—Tears of the Moon’s Tides).
Creuzet and Pi have collaborated for over a decade, most recently on Algorithm ocean true blood moves, a performance commissioned by Hartwig Art Foundation and Performa. Together, they use their knowledge, imagination, and creative tools to shape forms and performances that bring to life both timeless narratives and imagined futures of Afro-diasporic ancestrality. For this new work at HKW, they collaborate with a lyrical vocal ensemble—composed and directed by Makeda Monnet, with sopranos Séléna Hollemaert-Awadé and Cyrielle Ndjiki—to amplify the emotional and sensory power of their ongoing dialogue in a live setting.
This new performance is based on the lyrics written by Creuzet and the music composed by Creuzet and Ismaïl Lazam for the exhibition at the French Pavilion of the 60th Venice Biennale. It extends his ongoing interest in the poetics of water, seas, and oceans, exploring them as vessels of multidirectional movement of peoples, ideas, and cultures.
Pi’s choreographic scores bring to life figures like the Neptune of Venice’s Palazzo Ducale, sacred Bakongo sculptures, and underwater creatures—also featured in the animation films included in the live piece. The choreographer appears as a guiding avatar within the performance, creating a space where the divine, the fantastical, and the political intersect. Moving beyond linear time and reimagining spatial and conceptual boundaries, Quatuor & Quantum—Larmes marées de la lune (re)claims the form of a cloud—flowing with water and movement, elusive and impossible to grasp.
Commissioned by Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), co-produced by Na Mata Lab, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), and Hartwig Art Foundation. With the kind support of the Institut Français and the French Ministry of Culture.
Hartwig Art Foundation previously collaborated with Julien Creuzet and Ana Pi on Algorithm ocean true blood moves, a performance commissioned with Performa. It premiered in New York (Nov 2023), followed by a European premiere in Amsterdam (June 2024) with Dutch National Opera, and the African premiere in Dakar (Dec 2024) as part of The Wake at the 15th Dakar Biennale, in collaboration with Dak’Art and Performa.