beautiful cosmos

what happens when a stranger comes into proximity? how do we construct divisions between those who belong and those who do not? the figure of the stranger provokes both fascination and fear, desire and disgust. the performance explores how this ‘other’ is produced, how internal insecurities and anxieties are projected onto others, how the space between the familiar and the foreign is created. here, negative emotions become not merely personal experiences but they circulate between bodies and shape social space. when does curiosity turn into disgust? when do empathy and closeness become a threat? can we meet this stranger anew and move beyond the fear? or we may recognize that this stranger does not emerge from an outside but is a reflection of ourselves.

my current research focuses on the role of negative emotions, such as fear, anger, disgust, and resentment, analyzing how such negative emotions are often harnessed by populist groups to mobilize support, fuelling divisive narratives around immigration, national identity, and economic insecurity. Sara Ahmed argues that emotions play a role in defining and maintaining distinctions between individuals and groups, between us and them, between the dominant body and the “other”. this construction of “other” is also closely related to the concept of an alien or “stranger.”

i further explore what shape, what figure, what body does this stranger inhabit? how does this close encounter with the other make one feel? how can imagination and the interaction between fiction and reality help in this process?