German artist and fashion designer Elodie Carstensen presents “des Nachtmahrs Schmetterlinge”, an immersive experience with live performances and an interactive installation in a private event on June 24th, 2023 at Chaussee36.

“Des Nachmahrs Schmetterlinge” by Elodie Carstensen × Tomás Eyzaguirre

Carstensen’s interdisciplinary art project blends costume, video, installation art, and movement into an interactive and submersive journey of feelings. By recreating the trance state of a seemingly never-ending dream, it confronts people with their fears and emotions.
Through intuitive design and the freedom of improvisation, the process of making became cathartic to Carstensen, living in a modern world where connecting with one’s emotions has become a privilege.

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DATE: June 24th 2023
TIME: 6:31 PM
LOCATION: CHAUSEE36

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‘In lockdown, I embraced the challenge of the unknown, balancing between using my immediate surroundings to create with longing for social interaction. I transformed my emotions of uncertainty and solidarity into garments, connecting on a deeper level with the people I love.

Collaborating with the artist Tomas Eyzaguirre post-lockdown, I (re)discovered the power of shared work, breaking free from the confines of my own walls. Together, we crafted a captivating narrative, uniting artists to confront their individual and collective nightmares.

I aspire to create inclusive spaces where emotions can be experienced and shared authentically, free from masks and restrictions. In the vulnerable beginnings of a project, I always face the boundless void, rarely revealing this loneliness even to close friends. Through my art, I aim to inspire the strength that can only be found by accepting and embracing emotions, resisting suppression or numbness.’

Elodie Carstensen

Behind the scenes from the “Des Nachtmahrs Schmetterlinge” film production in 2022

Carstensens’s premiere immersive screening of des Nachtmahrs Schmetterlinge features 13 characters: Avenoir, Jouska, Rigor Samsa, Kairosclerosis, Liberosis, Sonder, Nodus Tollens, Anecdoche, Monachopsis, Gnossienne, Adronitis, Fata Organa, and Mimeomia.

In an experimental interpretation of Berlin’s Grunewald, the short film’s shooting location, Carstensen has created a room-filling installation of 13 white fabric trees. Huge mirrored surfaces and green lights convert the whole room into a surreal landscape, reflecting the butterfly hatching choreography by Marie Zechiel and her 13 dancers (Ada Nasilowska, Edgar Mauser, Elisaveta Polyakova, Frederike Fabricius Hamberg, Giulia Lampugnani, Ina Ortega, Kaodi Alum, Luisa Morgenroth, Mayila Khodadin, Sabina Moe, Suse Eder,Valentina Migliorati, “Shawty” Hasret Karakus). Soundscaping artist Chris Voolstra accompanies the experience, joined by musical guests like Andre hMoghimi and Gong Bath Conductor Guy Fried.

All performers wear garments made by Elodie Carstensen for her des Nachtmahrs Schmetterlinge collection.

Henry Fuseli artist QS:P170,Q122382, Johann Heinrich Füssli 053, public domain, Details: Wikimedia Commons

Des Nachtmahrs Schmetterlinge draws inspiration from a dark, intense oil painting by Swiss artist Johann Heinrich Füssli, der Nachtmahr (1790/91). In it, a small, mean-looking goblin sits hunched upon a sleeping person’s body, the very embodiment – and perhaps even the cause – of their nightmares. Indeed, where do our nightmares come from?

For more information, press inquiries, or interview requests,  please contact:

Martin Heßmann
Communications Manager
[email protected]
+49 151 509 580 38

Credits

“Des Nachmahrs Schmetterlinge” by Elodie Carstensen × Tomás Eyzaguirre

Design & Art Director: Elodie Carstensen
Photography & Director: Tomás Eyzaguirre
Cinematographer: Diego Gardo
Production & Graphics: Martin Heßmann
Editor: Matias Boettner
Makeup director: Sarah Hartgens
Makeup assistant: Viktoria Turok, Kathrin Hieselmayr, Julia Hahn
Photography assistant: Victor Almendra
Cast: Ajsa Selimovic, Alzac Mekacher, Analu, Artis Leonar, Charlie Kamryn Hanouskova, Diego Martinez, Fatou Ndure (izaio), Hélène Hang (izaio), Johnny Questions, Lev, Mina Kim Witte, Pavao Smoljanovic, Riley Davidson