Pasaport a les estrelles [Passport to the stars]
Technical data sheet:
Genre : Performance
Location: Customs hall of Portbou train station
Duration: 5 minutes
Year : 2020
Thanks to: Walter Benjamin Foundation, especially its director Pilar Parcerisas. Also to the collaborators: Marta Brugat, Jose Vidal, Sun de Ribo, Pepa Ameda, Nuri Cabeza, Marta Ollich, Nely Sanz and the dog Mel.
Description:
The fear of death begins from the moment man has the use of reason. Although we do not all have exactly the same degree of panic, it is difficult to find individuals prepared to face death.
Pandemics play an important role in this issue. Collective fear causes a large part of the population to think irrationally and behave like a herd without countering information. We have been afraid of AIDS, Ebola, bird flu... But perhaps these now feel distant. That is why it is important to talk about the influence that the first pandemic we have experienced, that of COVID-19, has had on our lives.
This action aims to reflect on collective fears, the terror of dying and also on how fear can transform us into different beings. Our behavior changes and we inevitably fight for the survival of the species, and not always in a very ethical way.
In times of war I think of the case of Walter Benjamin, who ended up committing suicide in a hotel in Portbou. These situations are moments that cause a lot of physical and mental fatigue and enormous stress that influence the human psyche, which is wishing for the suffering to end.