A “glitch” describes a disturbance in the transmission of digital information, such as a distorted image or a stuttering video. It creates a rupture in the perception of reality. Can grief also be understood as a glitch in that sense?
The performance Glitch Choir translates the moment of digital disturbance into the analog space through voice and body in order to recompose a lament. Historically, public mourning practices were long carried out by so-called “Klageweiber.” These women were commissioned to give emotional expression to the grief of others for the deceased. At the same time, the act of lamentation became a vehicle through which their voices could be heard, that otherwise had little presence in the public sphere.
The performance draws on this tradition of public lamentation. From mouth to mouth, the performance unfolds an intimate space of multiresonance. Can grief, within this temporary community, become a collective glitch? What kind of choir emerges from the dissonance of frequencies?