CPPM OPEN CLASS: Olivier de Sagazan

MA in Contemporary Physical Performance Making (CPPM) is a ground-breaking course that takes postgraduate education out of the classroom and puts practical experience with world-leading makers of performance at the heart of the learning process. Students are working alongside some of the most exciting directors, choreographers, performance makers, artists and companies across the world to further their own artistic practice through active collaboration, devising and performance. It is very important to us that all those international students who study the CPPM curriculum and those world-renowned performance makers who come to Estonia to teach them in Estonia, do not just stay between the four walls of the academy. CPPM Open Class is a series of events where anyone interested can take a look at the otherwise hidden rehearsal and creative processes. At the end of each open class, interviews with the guests will also take place to reveal even more about their creative processes.

Olivier de Sagazan is a French artist, painter, sculptor and performer. Trained as a biologist, he turned to painting and sculpture with the constant idea of questioning organic life. From his passion for giving life to matter comes the idea of covering his own body with clay in order to observe the resulting "object". This experience gave rise in 1998 to the creation of a solo „Transfiguration”, which has been performed more than 300 times in 25 countries. In this fascinating performance, Sagazan changes identities on stage from man to animal and from animal to various hybrid creatures. With clay and straw, he transforms himself into abstract, creepy characters, sticking them in the face and tearing them to pieces. He pierces, obliterates and unravels the layers on his face in a frenzied search for new essence and form. His performances are both horror art and a certain ritual. There is a fascination with tribal art and shamanism in his work, be it performance, painting or sculpture. This is probably the influence of his African roots: Sagazan is originally from the Congo, but has lived and worked in France for a long time. He has collaborated with artists from all fields: dance (Wim Vandekeybus), theater (David Wahl), music (FKA Twigs), cinema (Ron Frick, Qiu Yang), fashion (Gareth Pugh and Nick Knight).

Stephanie Sant is a filmmaker, writer and performer born in Malta and based in Paris, France. Shortly after graduating from Central Saint Martins, London, with a Master's in Arts, she started collaborating with Olivier de Sagazan on two of his creations: “Hybridation” and “La Messe de l' ne”. In parallel to this ongoing collaboration, she wrote and directed three short films in Malta, and is currently working on her fourth short film that will be filmed in France. Her work has been exhibited notably at Spazju Kreattiv (MT), Friche la Belle de Mai (FR), Het Nieuwe Instituut (NL) and the 2019 Venice Biennale (IT). She is the co-founder of Lazuli Studio.