The Soul Expanding Ocean #2: Isabel Lewis. O.C.E.A.N.I.C.A. (Occasions Creating Ecologically Attuned Narratives in Collective Action)
Ocean Space, Venice, 2021

For the second edition of The Soul Expanding Ocean, curator Chuz Martínez invited the Berlin-based artist and choreographer Isabel Lewis to create a series of performances for Ocean Space's vast volume in the Chiesa di San Lorenzo. O.C.E.A.N.I.C.A. (Occasions Creating Ecologically Attuned Narratives in Collective Action) uses a game structure where Lewis creates a different set of rules for each piece, or "round of play", in which participants—both professional dancers and amateurs, as well as visitors—act as individual agents and members of the communal body to compose novel forms in real time. Drawing inspiration from the earliest invertebrates, Lewis' choreography developed an embodied knowledge connecting our human movements to those of our sea-dwelling ancestors.

D.H.office coordinated the exhibition production during the preparatory phase and for the performances which occurred over five consecutive weekends. Responsibilities included finding participants for the workshop through an open call and registering them, technical installation of the audio and lighting systems, daily monitoring and operational support during the performances, and documentation of the project.

Lewis' project centres on improvisation and reactivity to people and place. Our team supported with the artist in encouraging visitors to participate in the work by not only drawing a broad audience to the performances but also deconstructing, in verbal and non-verbal modes, the viewer-performer binary.