Flax, baby! Flax! [preludes]
July–August 2024 Residency at Zone2Source Park studio (Orangerie)
A research project by Marie Ilse Bourlanges and Liza Prins

From this light-imbued greenhouse, amongst the lush vegetation of Amstel Park, we hosted a series of open rehearsals in preparation for our operatic performance Flax, baby! Flax! with composer Bergur Anderson and performers Pilar Mata Dupont, Romy Day Winkel, Logan Hon Mua, Joana Guiné, Robin Becker, Giulia Damiani, Bitna Youn, Miriam van Rijsingen and Berenike Melchior. 

Next to the rehearsals and throughout the summer, we wrote the song lyrics of Flax, baby! Flax!, sculpted new interpretations of flax tools into instruments, worked flax into braids, edited and recorded a new mixtape volume of Field Recordings, shot a video of Khoreia with Yana Khazanovich and developed a video work with Mathilde Renault on cultivating flax on a plot at the edge of Flevopark for the past three years. 

The outcome of this project unfolded in different locations and temporalities with
Flax, baby! Flax! [interludes] at A Tale of a Tub in Rotterdam in August 2024
Flax, baby! Flax! [variations] at het Glazen Huis, Zone2Source in September 2024

Many thanks to Alice Smits, Hannah Chenney and the team of Zone2Source.
Pictures of open rehearsal by Kyle Tryhorn.
Poster printed in Riso at Terry Bleu.

Made possible with the support of Mondriaan Fonds, Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsdeel Zuid, and Culture Moves Europe (mobility fund of the EU-council).