CAIN IN ABSENTIA

Premiere (audio version): 02.04.2019, National Competition of Prison Theater Art in Poznan
Premiere (audio-video version): 28.10.2019, Na Grobli Studio – Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw

Recorded voices: Dawid, Dominik, J., Krystian, Marcin, Muniek, M., Paweł
Concept and direction: Diego Pileggi
Script: Agnieszka Bresler
Lighting: Diego Pileggi
Video projections: Aleksandra Gronowska
Set design: Katarzyna Pieniawska
Costumes: Katarzyna Gierczyk
Video: ASF Studio
Production: Jubilo Foundation
Coordinator: Martyna Dębowska
Produced in: 2019
Language: Polish with English surtitles

Running time: 45 minutes

The installation received special non-competition award at the 6. National Competition of Prison Theater Works in Poznań and a special prize at the “Prison Movie” 2019 International Festival of Prison Films in Olsztyn. 


 

Cain in Absentia is a performative installation by Jubilo Foundation, based on a performance of Cain in Penitentiary Wrocław 1 in 2019. The sets, lighting and sound from the piece allow you to step back into a world created by the actors behind the massive walls of the prison. According to the creators, the space of the installation makes it possible to ‘delve deep into oneself, into regions that are painful but allow you to better understand your essence’.

The notion of absence is a starting point for the creator’s audiovisual research and a key to interpreting the work. By tracing the bodies of Cains, the video projections featured in the installation merge organically with recorded voices. Through a fusion of theatre and visual arts, the piece Cain is given new contexts and meanings. The actors are physically absent, but the creators manage to rediscover ‘a way out, towards society, far from our public subjectivity and status, finding a new level of presence ‒ a redefinition of ourselves’.


Project partner: Grotowski Institute


Supported by the Municipality of Wrocław and Creative Europe as part of FREEWAY: Free Man Walking.


Photos: Artur Rzeźniczek


Photos: Agnieszka Ćwieląg


Photos: Aleksandra Pawłowska