Listening Activism on AlexanderPlatz

Last August (2020) I took part to Listening Activism in Alexander Platz in Berlin, lead by Jolika Sudermann-van den Berg and supported by the WMAIPS (Women* Making Art in Public Spaces) platform.

I have always been incredibly interested in exploring what activism could be like through public interventions and performance. Jolika invited a group of women* to stand still between 30 to 45 minutes with eyes close in the iconic Alex Platz. Before I share about my experience, here are Jolika’s words beautifully describing the interventions and its intentions:

“The idea: A large group of women* standing still for a long time with their eyes closed, listening to the sounds of Alexanderplatz, exposing themselves to the eyes of the public. This is a picture I've had in my mind for a long time. Especially in catastrophic times like these where we all carry strong feelings of fear and helplessness with us, I believe that cultivating an attitude of listening is the base for all positive change in the world. When we start listening to ourselves and our surrounding instead of constantly reacting or escaping, we create a space in which solidarity and hope can grow. By placing a large group of listeners into a metropolitan square like Alexanderplatz, which is strongly connoted with consumerism and anonymity, we might be able to transform it into a space where people stop for a moment and listen. And, maybe, get a sense of the great strength and connecting quality that lies in human vulnerability.

Women* have always been the main care workers in society, and therefore have access to an enormous experience and knowledge about care work in all its facets. By choosing for a female* group of listeners in this installation, we acknowledge this and show that we are willing to share this knowledge with others. Beyond that, in a time where violence against women* has significantly increased, we create a strong image of female* solidarity.”

This experience was personally a journey from vulnerability to empowerment.
A great opportunity to uncover some inner beliefs that associate activism to BIG! HARD! and LOUD!
So, I stood there in complete silence, listening. Orienting my ears towards the recognisable sounds revealed to be disorienting. The unease that big crowds often creates in me emerged. Normally in such situations I shrink my body, I retrieve within so to better wiz through as fast as I can as a way to minimize the damage. But in this case I had to be still and for 45 minutes. Despite knowing that we were looked after, I initially felt deeply vulnerable. I was scared to be punched, pushed, yell at, spat at. I was not sure if to be grateful for not understanding many of the words that I could sometimes perceive.

The tiredness started to kick in and so many little adjustments throughout my body needed to be made. A gentle weight shift to the right foot first and then to the left, relaxing the left shoulder, slightly shift the chin back, ignoring the contagious itchiness… and on and on… negotiating the physical and the sensorial realm.
The next layer arrives, the next wall to be faced and after considering to sit down for a few minutes, I decide to commit until the end, which was going to be Jolika’s hand brushing my shoulder, and end we hadn’t really rehearsed, and so, something to look out for.
The commitment opens the door to another realm, a realm of strength and timelessness, where one just is and is just there. There is no forcing, no reasons, no effort…. I am just there and suddenly my aura expands, my skin thickens. I am not scared anymore. I feel the walls of the buildings around me, I feel the air shifted by the moving people, I feel strong, safe, deeply connected to the musicality of sounds that are around me which by now are quite predictable but I also start to imagine, to visualise as for a desire to my inner works to meet the outer in a gentle respect for each other.

And as Jolika’s hand arrives, the journey back out or to the familiar state is a long one…. all the others seems to be keen to share and are able to be so verbally precise…. I am still deep. It takes me a while to emerge, a walk to the original gathering place and a last debrief circle are so welcomed.

Nowadays, every time I walk by Alexander Platz, I make a special effort to revisit the spot where we were standing; the presence of such experience still feels so strong! I wonder if anyone that saw us still remember it.

Yes of course they do. We were there, they were there… in one way or the other … they do.

I am profoundly touched and grateful for such witnessing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyiEspnjI_A&feature=emb_title