2019
London
A seed has been planted
Submitting my PhD re-energised a wish: to find a creative way to formulate some of my research funding and explorations into A performance project.
In my thesis’ introduction I write about the Myth of Psyche, a mortal woman on a journey of self-knowledge, with references to Carl Jung’s psychoanalytic perspectives. Psyche’s journey can be seen as a journey into consciousness; a journey in which she discovers the feminine aspect of her personality. I write about it as a metaphor for my own journey during the years of my PhD research.
The feminine aspect of Psyche’s personality (as a prototype for people in general) involves selectivity, patience, vitality, support, productivity, generosity, forgiveness, beauty and the possibility of saying no. Above all, her acceptance of failure is a key factor. It is the most basic element of being a human being.
Without the feminine, Psyche cannot reach her potential as a conscious woman. In other words, it is the development of her femininity that enables Psyche to become aware of herself and of others, that allows her to know herself as an emotional and thinking woman. And it is this awareness that then enables Psyche to love.
In my new project, I wished to explore, and to give an academic and scientific contextualization, methodology and terminology to the ‘feminine’. Additionally and inevitably I questioned how and on what ground feminism and the ‘feminine’ can co-exist and inter-relate.
The myth of Psyche, as Jung understands it, is a complex story about qualities of life and human nature; it is not necessarily about gender. What he attributes to Psyche and her journey, are feminine qualities that enable self-awareness. They generate a deep understanding of oneself and are not what might be the cultural understanding of femininity.
These qualities are those that make one work hard, they are about failure, vulnerability, fragility and seeing all these as strengths rather than weaknesses. They are based on dependency, on community, on seeing and listening and sharing a space.
I therefore invited people from all cross of life, to join me in a two-day workshop where I introduced some of these elements.
2020
Pandemic
It is March 2020, and we are all closed in our homes, protecting ourselves from a worldwide pandemic. How can one defeat loneliness, anxiety and fear…?
I decided to offer a creative project to people from all around the globe. Sharing on social media some creative tasks that people, whomever they are and wherever they are, can try, test, enjoy and experiment with.
For five Sunday mornings my long-term collaborator Inbar Jeffery, and I, invited people to join us for a Zoom storytelling and discussion, inspiration and tasks. Each week we revealed more of Psyches' journey and sent the participants to respond to a task as it is understood by them.
These were the tasks
Through the period of lockdown and after receiving so many beautiful moments, reflections, and responses by way of video, poetry and photography from participants, Hagit and her longtime collaborator Inbar Jeffery, started the collate the material into a short film.
This video is a video composition, which incorporates for us the spirit and essence of Psyche's tale, and reflects the aesthetics of this project as it develops.
Psyche Expressions Impressions
2022
Supported by Norsk Kulturfond, Stavanger Kommune and Universitetet I Stavanger, Hagit and collaborators are revisiting the myth of Psyche, to discuss the ‘feminine’. A process which culminates in a work-in-progress sharing.
It is a glimpse, a taste, a suggestion.
A flavour we hope we are bringing.
Walking through a continuum of habits; always a need, not a will, to be patient.
Wanting. Waiting. Weight. Wait.
This research project included a group of professional dancers, dance students, and community participants who joined live and online. It was performed for a live audience at Stavanger University.
Trailer of our online participants. The long version was shared alongside the live research performance.
2023
Psyche Online
In the fall of 2022, Hagit and a group of dancers, artists, musicians and more than 100 people from the community (worldwide) developed a site-specific dance performance, forming artistic and movement expressions for Psyche’s tale.
In December 2022 we presented the project as a work in progress through four performances in Stavanger (Dec-2022), with nearly 200 audience members.
The project was very well received by the audience and the participants, leaving us notes of appreciation, personal experiences and wishes for the project’s continuation. Many wished for online distribution of the project, especially those participating in the project from abroad or otherwise connected to the project or Hagit from outside of Stavanger.
We therefore gathered in May 2023 to recreate Psyche as an online - a live experience via Zoom.
