Songs of Flax – Chapter 1 : A Rippling Melody

Workshop developed and hosted with Liza Prins and Bergur Anderson
January 2024
A Tale of a Tub, Rotterdam (NL)

Working with our hands and voices, we explored notions of collective singing, collaborative labor, embodied work rhythms, and plant agency.
This first chapter concentrated on the movement that separates the flax seed pods from their stalks. Our work was aided by a melody composed by Bergur Anderson, encouraging lyrics and ornamentation of voice to be introduced while singing.

Songs of Flax is a research project by Liza Prins and Marie Ilse Bourlanges that delves into the material realities of historical production of flax, a plant cultivated for its fibers known as linen. The project aims to give these textile practices new relevance today and to identify parallels between labor conditions and protest strategies through song.

With the support of Mondriaan Fonds and co-funded by the European Union.
Many thanks to Lisanne Janssen, Julia Geerlings, Isabelle Sully, Erika Roux and all participants.

Postcard riso-printed at Extrapool.