SOMETHING OF WHAT WE’VE LOST
“The quieter it is, the better we get along. Renée van Trier,
a transdisciplinary artist, mourns the loss of the comfort of disconnected life. Her open-hearted musical performances rack up extravagant characters, as universally endearing as they are disturbing, in explosive vocal tones.
In this new creation, she explores the tension that constantly feeds us, between our desire to detach ourselves from others and from objects, and our fear of irreversible loss. Renée van Trier makes us promise: her songs will soothe our anxieties, heal our torments and make us
smile for weeks.”
— Arsenic Theatre . Lausanne . Switzerland . Photo Pierre Vogel
Concept: Renée van Trier. Performance: Renée van Trier, Louis Bonard. Music: Renée van Trier, EXM, RATTY. Costumes: Marloes van Dijk. Accessoires: That’s Vile. Videoclip: Renée van Trier, Loes Korten. Co production: Arsenic – Centre d’art scénique contemporain, Lausanne. Support: Mondriaan Fonds Amsterdam.
ALL CAN BE SOFTER
Renée Van Trier whispers : WE NEED SOFTNESS — NOW !
Nobody remembers when it happened or even who said it, but one day, Renée Van Trier heard herself compared to a Tuareg-Punk. An absurd denomination that suits her like a glove, reflecting the singular quality of her artistic output. She amuses herself by impertinently exploring characters with contrasting physiques and vocal tones, oscillating between personal mythology and contemporary figures from popular culture. As a sound performance, ALL CAN BE SOFTER is deafening, shameless, often excessive and at times repulsive, and should be approached with caution. Under a falsely naïve appearance, the artist distils a skillful mixture of creativity and madness.
This intrepid adventurer is not afraid to let silence, insidious and frightening as it may be, into her superlative world.
Renée Van Trier whispers : We need softness — now !
Concept, Performance and Music : Renée van Trier
Co production : Arsenic – Centre d’Art Scénique Contemporain . Lausanne . Switzerland
Photo Maxime Genoud
“Renée van Trier understands it very well who plays with her dark doppelganger creating a quite unseen and mesmerizing choreography. Renée is singing her songs in a wireless microphone so this show could very well be considered a “concert”, but a strange one indeed where the singer is experiencing maximal uneasiness: when Renée faces us she is also facing the projection resulting in severe dazzlement. And yes we recognize Renée van Trier personal obsessions and inimitable musical style as well as her incredible creativity regarding costumes, postures, movements…not to forget a malicious sense of humor that is clearly her most pregnant characteristic. A Super scary, super funny, a brilliant piece of work.”
— Review Performance ‘ALL CAN BE SOFTER’ by Christophe Jaquet . The National Institute . Arsenic Theatre . Lausanne . Switserland
“In the form of an epilogue, the versatile and eclectic artist Renée van Trier intervenes at the frontier of time. These solos take place and voices explore each time the energy of a female body.”
— Jeter Son Corps Dans La Bataille . BAC . Geneva . Switzerland
Photo Laura Spozio
“The drama and ambiguity that makes van Trier’s work questionable is a trump card in the mediocre landscape of today’s Dutch Art Playground
”
— Peter Fengler . The Player . Rotterdam
Photo Simon Lettelier at Extraball . Centre Cultural Suisse . Paris