Universal Tongue
About
NB: this only the last hour of Universal Tongue, video edition, 2022: 4 hours duration with sound The video edition Universal Tongue is distracted from found video footage presenting thousands of different dance styles, selected by a team of 52 researchers from all over the world from YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Collectively, they collected 8800 videos; 250 hours of video material, 1000 dance styles, from all 196 countries of the world. This four-hour rousing dance video is bundled and arranged by rhythm of the soundtrack which is partly remixed out of original music from the found videos. The ongoing loop of moving image erases typical categories of the world order, such as country, continent or culture. Instead, it looks at our era of fluidity, hybridity and non-stop connectedness with respect for and in celebration of our diverse historical backgrounds, cultural differences and unique individuality. Twerking, vogue, Fortnite, flash mobs, a Sufi or musical chairs. Visual artist Anouk Kruithof is fascinated by dance as a form of self-expression and empowerment, which has led her to research dance styles from all over the world. The dance-conclave and video Universal Tongue leads us through the jungle of the internet. It explores how dance has developed throughout history as part of our global media culture, and how it manifests online. "Dance—the moving body—more than anything in our diverse and complex world unites us in the recognition of our shared fragility and our common human condition. It also points us towards a possibility of a more inclusive world with limitless exchange and understanding of new identities, a world where simply everyone is a dancer." — Anouk Kruithof edited with Ieva Maslinskaitė soundtrack with Karoliina Pärnänen Check: http://www.universaltongue.com for more information about this project
