TRANS-WARHOL URBAN EDITION
PERFORMANCE
POETIC BATTLE, Nicolas Musin
FLUX Laboratory, in collaboration with Urban Move Academy (UMA), presents an adaptation of TRANS-WARHOL, focusing more particularly on the “pas de deux” between Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat—a reflection on violence that captures the tensions and dynamics perceived between them. Blending the imagery of boxing and battle (symbols of conflict, resilience and vitality) with Pop aesthetics, this poetic battle draws on Andy Warhol’s legacy to reinterpret it. Like a hip-hop battle, boxing does not imitate life: boxing is life—natural, raw and uncompromising. Few sports combine intimacy, physical exposure and vulnerability so powerfully. Its performative nature, expressiveness and theatricality are all qualities that bring boxing close to an art form. Boxing experienced its golden age in ancient Greece, when it was introduced into the Panhellenic festivals and, from 688 BC onwards, into the prestigious Olympic Games. Within an immersive 360-degree scenography, ten artists from different disciplines—including krump, hip-hop, breaking, contemporary dance, parkour, tricking, skateboarding and spoken word—engage in a series of dialogues. Meeting on equal terms, they explore and share their personal heritage, inventing a new language and inviting audiences to discover a sensitive and poetic vision of the battle.
Concept and direction: Nicolas Musin
Artistic collaboration: Ilias Hatzigeorgiou
Music: ESG, Dixlexsix, The Eyes in the Heat and Tristesse Contemporaine
Performers: The UMA Company (Annah Werkema, Merit Laengner, Côme Carpentier, Florian Maillet and Kevin
Bringolf), together with Kalli Tarasidou, Haris Hatziandreou, Gian Angelos Apostolidis, aka Fuerza, Charles Allan,
aka Yesus, and Andreas Anma Massios
Production: FLUX Laboratory
Support: Pro Helvetia
Swiss House of Culture, Research and Diplomacy • Palaiologou Benizelou 5, 105 56 Athina, Greece
