Lina Lapelytės 'Study of Slope'

A “moving, wistful, and immersive installation” (The New York Times). The New York Times critics pick makes its US premiere at PS21. A musical performance by Lithuanian interdisciplinary artist Lina Lapelytė (winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale 2019), Study of Slope is a performance-installation featuring a choir of local self-identified non-musical performers—selected through an open call. By centering those without a “musical ear,” the work challenges the dominant codes of Western musical tradition that typically exclude off-key voices. These often-silenced voices resonate around the PS21 grounds in a continuous act of singing and movement, performed over two consecutive nights beginning at 6 PM each evening. Set within a landscape of nettles—plants often dismissed as weeds despite their healing properties—the work symbolically disrupts normative categorizations. The text sung by the performers is drawn from Sean Ashton’s Living in a Land, a fictional memoir where the narrator recounts only what he has never done or will never do. This exploration of absence invites reflection on identity, experience, and the individual’s place within a community. Starting with the voice, Study of Slope reimagines how we define musicality, expression, and belonging. It celebrates polyphony and personal difference while questioning how a truly collective voice might be formed. Since its debut in France, the work has continued to resonate in new contexts, inviting audiences elsewhere into its evolving sonic landscape. This marks the first time the piece will be performed in the United States.

Event Links

Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3155377-0

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3155377-2

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