Taking intimacy out of intimate — Jette Schwabe

The 4-channel video installation "Taking intimacy out of intimate" (2020) deals with the spatial behaviour of people as a non-verbal communication system. By means of spatial constellations, gestures and postures, a "spatial language" is created between communication or interaction partners. "Taking intimacy out of intimate" is an attempt to analyse and visualise this language through choreographies.
visualise it.
In 2020, the topics of distance and social distancing have taken on a new significance. The distance "1.50 m" opened up the discourse of generalised distancing rules for the first time.
"Taking intimacy out of intimate" reflects a culture and society characterised by this new distance, in which distances between people previously followed unspoken rules. In the process, personal boundaries are often transgressed without comment.
Based on the research of the American anthropologist and ethnologist Edward T. Hall, these personal boundaries ("personal space") are analysed experimentally and placed in relation to situations in everyday life. The result of these physical explorations are five choreographies that deal in particular with 'intimate space' - the area close to the body.