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Soul
Cornelia Renz & Ilka Wonschik, Künstlerforum, Bonn, Germany, 2022
The main action taking place in this performance is the scorching of slices of bread with the Star of David sign and the word Nefesh (Hebrew for soul),
after which the slices of bread are handed out to the audience. They are prepared upon a textile surface on which pictures are sewn, taken out of the
album of family and friends of my grandmother, most of whom were murdered in the Holocaust. My grandmother, in her rage and pain, boycotted Germany and
Poland, would not buy products of these countries and refused to speak their languages. In my performance, I carry out an act of compassion, mercy and giving by
handing out the bread. The act etches in the spectator's memory - for better or worse - that which has taken place, and its healing. The performance smells strongly of
scorched bread and thick smoke.
The act of scorching the bread produces an artistic object which is shortly annihilated. The audience is invited to partake of the bread.




"Soul" performance in Poland
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