The thin summer robe in the face of bare desire offers no defence*

Date

Time

Venue

Date

Time

Venue

Tuesday 17. June 2025

18:00 – 19:00

Northing

Free reservation

Tilgjengelighet No strobe lights No blackout No stage smoke or scents Seated or seating options With English text/speech

Welcome to a conversation between Mirte Bogaert and Ben Wenhou Yu

What does the naked body mean? When is it sexual? And what makes it sexual? Why are female breasts sexualized and the male breast not?

Our perception of nudity and sexuality is highly formed by the society and time we are living in – and most often we are not aware of it but think of it as something natural. Enough reason for Mirte Bogaert to do a trip to Japan to study alternatives and how Western perspectives have influenced Japanese ideals.

Mirte Bogaert visited several Japanese strip theatres and did interviews to gain deeper insights into cultural perceptions and the gaze on the (naked) body.

The thin summer robe
in the face of bare desire
offers no defence.*

*Modern Haiku by Masajo Suzuki / Translated from Japanese by Ben Wenhou Yu

In this talk, Mirte will share her reflections and observations in conversation with curator and founding director of Gallery Northing Ben Wenhou Yu, in the context of the exhibition Wild As a Hare at Northing. Wild As a Hare is a retrospective exhibition of the acclaimed Chinese photographer Lin Zhipeng (also known as No.223), who has spent 20 years documenting the intimate and often conflicting lives of a generation of Chinese people who have witnessed society’s transformation from being relatively open and liberal to increasingly restrictive and repressive.

Mirte Bogaert’s ongoing research forms the foundation for As you like it, a new work by her. A work-in-progress version will be presented at Forecast Forum in Berlin in July 2025, with the final piece premiering at BIT Teatergarasjen in December 2025.

Bio

Mirte Bogaert is an artist with background in dance and choreography in Norway and Belgium. After her studies in social work, she studied at Høyskolen for Dansekunst in Oslo and completed her studies at Research Studios at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels.

Bogaert creates and collaborates in interdisciplinary performing arts projects that integrate body, movement, objects, sound, light, and text. Rooted in the body’s presence and gestures from everyday life, rather than learned virtuosity in dance styles, her practice is guided by an interest in rhythm, subtle movements as breath and eye movement, which play a crucial part for creating performances.

Credits

(limited to the periods during and after TOKAS Research Residency):

Many thanks to: Tomoko Seto, Daisuke Muto, Ive Stevenheydens, TOKAS team, Saori Izumi, Mai Endo, Natsu Usami, Hino Hiruko, Jennifer Merlyn Scherler, Joakim Aras, Kaoru Ueda, Fu Kuen Tang, Jimmy Ong, Tarlen Handayani
Supported by: Charleroi Danse (BE), Vestland Fylkeskommune (NO), Arbeidsstipend (Arts and Culture Norway)
Residencies: TOKAS – Tokyo Arts and Space (JP), Mogus House (ID), Miao Dance (SG)

As you like it participates in Forecast Forum 2025 (DE)

*Modern Haiku by Masajo Suzuki / Translated from Japanese by Ben Wenhou Yu
Vi i BIT Teatergarasjen er glade for at publikummet vårt består av ulike mennesker; folk med ulike erfaringer og tilsvarende unike behov.

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