DEVOTION DEVOTION is an experimental performance by dance artist Lydia Mokdessi and musician Jason Bartell. Over the past three years, the duo has developed shared practices of sonic and physical droning, navigating a series of structural trap doors that invite dissonance and distortion in order to de-fetishize the artistic “hand.” Deconstructed memories and cinematic imagery are conjured into opulent loops and choreography that trouble the relationship of the body to identity, spectatorship, objectification, service, submission, and control. During the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine, the artists have adapted the project into two modular videos designed to be played simultaneously or sequentially, further obstructing authorship and attempting to locate a sense of collective agency.

credits:

Creators and Performers: Lydia Mokdessi + Jason Bartell

Vocalist: Syd Island

Costume Design: PERSONA

Videography: Daniel Whitney Young