Topographies of skin

A team of dermatologists conducts a case study. A hairy kiwi is clean-shaved, a banana receives a skin transplant. On the table next to it beauty products, wellness articles and medical tools promise smoother, younger and healthier skins.
Soft Territories explores skin as a living archive. A surface that records memories, identities, desires, and histories. As the boundary between inside and outside, skin protects us, exposes us, and reveals how bodies are seen, valued and controlled.

Combining interviews with the audience, performative lectures, personal testimonies, skin cleansing rituals and immersive audiovisuals, the performance follows skin as a living surface. Through playful examinations of different aspects of skin, questions emerge: Who is allowed to touch whom? Which skin is visible, desirable or vulnerable? And what traces does our life leave on our skin?

Language: English
Concept, text, direction and acting:
Sarah Bergin, Mar Koinaki and Catrin Watermann.

Note: This performance touches on experiences of physical violence and sexual trauma. Some themes may be distressing for audience members. Please take care of yourself and step out at any time if needed.