Luke George & Daniel Kok

Still Lives is a performance-installation series that captures (with ropes) significant moments or movement in relation to specific cultural contexts. Each edition of Still Lives is a durational, site-responsive and context-specific process of binding cultural objects in their place. This allows new conversations to emerge and unveils narratives about local history, political tensions, social connections and personal attachments

Looking to the renown Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Gent that has been held annually since 1922, Luke George (Melbourne) and Daniel Kok (Singapore/Berlin) will tie up and suspend two Belgian cyclists in the style of rope bondage. The goal of this 2-hour performance is to have the cyclists and their bicycles suspended in the air as if they are in the middle of a race, tilting to one side as they round the tight curve of the velodrome track. The artists will also collaborate with Suzan Peeters, a Belgian occordionist, composer, and experimentalist. She will create live compositions for the show.

"I aim to create sound and textures using the accordion and my voice which blend with the mechanical sounds of a bicycle. Both the accordion and the bike are driven by subtle mechanics, each part working in harmony to keep everything in motion. Two different forms of movement, weaving together into one continuous, organic flow." - Suzan Peeters on her music for 'Still Lives'

The performance will take place in Ghent’s unique Minard theatre that has classical theatre seating on one side, and is a contemporary "black box" on the other. Audience members may choose to sit and move freely around the performance area, and to view the performance from either side. Meanwhile, a video installation featuring short documentary videos about our 2 cyclists is set up in the foyer of the theatre so that the audience can appreciate the personal stories and backgrounds of our subjects. 

This iteration of Still Lives for Ghent, is characterised by duality - 2 persons in a race, art and sports, rigger and model, performers and spectators, language and culture, past and present. We want to highlight how even competition can be about collaboration, mutual understanding and communality. What will become apparent to the audience is that the performance is ultimately about the social and cultural life of Ghent, and how Belgians identify as a community.