Exorcism of the Father
Meet Belle and Gustavo
"Exorcism of the Father” A Butoh piece and organic installation, created by Belle Shafir and Gustavo Thomas, with original music by Sarah Sarhandi (and others)
Belle Shafir
Belle Shafir
Gustavo Thomas
In the early 2000s, I began dealing with issues that concern man’s interference with the natural order through genetic enhancement and cloning. The tiny pieces I created during that period address man’s inability to notice disruptions and deal with the harmful consequences of his actions. This artistic move has led me to examine my own identity, split in many ways and ridden with conflict, oscillating between cultures. Looming above it all, like a dark cloud, was the fact of my being the daughter of Polish holocaust survivors, who had immigrated to Germany at the end of World War II. Dealing with identity brought up some alarming memories which, previously silenced, were now piling one on top of the other.
The essence and deceptive nature of memory became central motifs in my work. Knitted chains made from horse-hair taken from the family farm in Germany, reminiscent of damaged DNA sequences, were the first appearance of this theme in her art. I later used the same hair to knit tiny spiders that resonated with Louise Bourgeois’ “Maman”.
During the recent year, I began to process the family collection of photographs, which has since become a Pandora’s Box for me. I recover images from its depths and confronts them by placing them on sheets of parchment, hoping to retell the story of my own life, and try to come to terms with the interrupted story of my family.
Actor and Butoh performer, photographer, playwright, poet, stage director and independent performing arts researcher. Taijiquan practitioner.
​
I was born in Mexico City, and lived and worked in Beirut, Beijing, Toronto, Guangzhou and currently in Berlin.
First a professional stage actor, I’ve passed through different artistic stages, from realist theatre to physical theatre, becoming finally a Butoh artist who’s exploring performance art and photography.
I published a book (2012) on the acting technique explored by my teacher Antonio González Caballero, and
I’ve been interested in researching acting techniques around the world.
Since 2010 I’ve been studying and working creatively with Butoh. My studies and practices have taken me to Toronto, Montréal, New York, Yokohama and Tokyo, working with masters such as Denise Fujiwara, Jocelyne Montpetit, Seisaku, Ko Murobushi, Natsu Nakajima and Yoshito Ohno, son of one of the two founders of Butoh, Kazuo Ohno, and whom I consider my most influential teacher due to the primordial interest he has in the so-called “Butoh of light”, an open encounter with the spiritual forces of the artist through the impulsive movement and the free use of internal images.
I’ve presented my work of Butoh in Spain, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, China and Germany, always in close collaboration with visual artists and musicians.
My Butoh I consider it not a show of performing skills in itself, but an encounter and a sharing of his creative and personal life with the spectator and with other artists on the scene through the impulsive and spiritual movement of my own being.
​
Gustavo Thomas
Exorcism of the Father (Trailer)
