/ Interview

by Ben Culpin for AARHUSMAKERS

I met with Bowy Goudkamp, the creator of performance installation, Lo1 – which will be at END OF THE LINE from 1-10 August.

Initially, it feels like a shame we haven’t been able to meet at Bowy’s own workplace or studio, as the setting can often tell an outsider a great deal about an artist own processes, inspirations and ideas. Yet as soon as I begin talking to Bowy, she is happy to open up about her own creative path, how she shapes her performances to fit with new settings and how Denmark, and specifically Aarhus, has drawn her back.

Born and bred in The Hague, Bowy moved to Silkeborg in 2011 to study at the Performers House in Papirfabrikken (Paper Mill). This school, which has since closed, was a performing arts school which offered courses in music, electronic music, dance, theatre and new circus. “I went to højskole when I was 20 and it was an important time for me as a person. The school was brilliant, they gave us a space to perform and said ‘show us what YOU can do’ while giving us the tools to learn with great teachers, who knew what they were talking about.”

It was here that Bowy gained important knowledge on theatre, with courses in physical theatre, voice and expression, character building and method acting.

“They gave us a really good package of methods and techniques for acting – but then we were very much encouraged to not necessarily listen to them all but to explore our own preferences, boundaries and territories.”

After finishing Performers House, Bowy moved to London. “I wanted to work as an actress and learn to live on my own. To live independently and to take care of myself in an enormous, rowdy city like London was a big test, and has definitely shaped me and the hardcore work ethic I have now.” It’s this work ethic and ability to draw inspiration from anything, both from the exterior surroundings and from inside herself, that I want to find out more about. Bowy tells me how her greater source of inspiration is her continual amazement and wonder at humanity. “I think sometimes we forget how wonderful, mystical and magnificent we are! How completely extraordinary we are as a phenomena in this universe. That’s the main thread in my work: suprise and amazement. Unlike other artists I’ve spoken to, Bowy doesn’t have a set formula in where and when the next source of inspiration will come from. She tells me how a certain color, a phrase, a particular setting or a change in her own behaviour can trigger a sudden creative idea. It was in her fifth year living in London that Bowy began to start writing. As part of her first job as a director, she went to Italy one summer to see an opera performance at the Villa de Basin in a subterranean theatre. After talking with the theatre’s owner, she was invited to come and put on a performance the following year as part of an annual festival.

“This was the first time where an opportunity like this had come up. I immediately decided that it could be an opportunity for me to do my own work. Initially, I didn’t have anything in mind so I challenged myself. Walking back from the Villa to the town square that evening, I thought I should contemplate the idea. The moment I sat down, had ordered a glass of red wine, ideas started to snowball from my mind. A whole play just laid itself out like it had been brewing in the background and was just waiting for the opportunity, a single moment.” Taking herself outside of her comfort zone as an actress, Bowy then began writing and working on producing plays in London. This quickly became something which felt comfortable and she began to seek out the quiet corners of London in which to work: the cafes in the parks, community gardens or at home with a candle and a quiet windowsill. “Eventually I realised though that London is very fast – people are very ambitious and everyone has people to meet and places to go. There is a constant drive, that moves the city forwards and onwards. It’s also very polluted. After 5 years, I no longer enjoyed the day-to-day actions one has. And as I had started writing, I realised I could write anywhere. So I asked myself, if I can write anywhere: where does my heart want to be, where do you want to go? And the answer straight away was Denmark. I’d been travelling back and forth to Denmark during my time in London and I always knew there was nothing like it. Every time I came here it was like taking a relaxing breath out — an exhale — this is my happy place.

So then I asked myself, where in Denmark? And the answer straight away was Aarhus. I spent two months in Copenhagen meeting the industry professionals, casting directors, attending networking events, and then moved to Aarhus in September. “

I ask Bowy about what it was specifically that drew her back to Denmark and why she has chosen Aarhus as the base for her work. “I think Aarhus is similar to The Hague in many ways so it reminds me of home. I always describe this town as ‘the higher octave of The Hague – with all the good stuff I experienced in my childhood – and then some!” Her association with the city as a creative place comes from the freedom and discovery that she experienced in her life during her time at Performers House in Silkeborg. But it’s more than just this association with creativity though. Bowy talks about the draw of Aarhus: “It’s also how the wind feels on my skin and the sky colors pink for long periods of time at dusk. It might sound cheesy but for me, the ARoS rainbow panorama is the perfect metaphor. At the end of my rainbow is Aarhus – this is my home where I’ve found a sense of belonging.”

How did you get to hear about AARHUSMAKERS and END OF THE LINE?

“I met AARHUSMAKERS as I was invited by Aysha, the photographer of this project, to an exhibition at EOTL. When I arrived at this space I was awe struck by the mirror room - it was twilight so there was a beautiful shimmer which had quite an effect on me. I already thought this venue was amazing but it was when I walked through the mirror room and into the gallery that I thought about what a great setup it had. I loved the art and the artists. It’s such an interesting space – you’re just in a L-shape space but for me it was like walking into this otherworldly tube or box away from everything else. Very much a universe on its own. I think I was drawn to that element of that it is just an odd space – my style just gravitated to the oddity and weirdness of it.” This ‘oddity’ of the space (space oddity?) stayed with Bowy after leaving END OF THE LINE. She already had her first solo performance booked for the 10th of October at theatre Svalegangen – entitled: LO1/ A Circle Around The Middle.

Just as inspiration had struck at the venue in Italy, Bowy began to think on how EOTL could work as a venue for her performance piece: “Going home and having this venue in mind, it developed into its own performance. The environment and context play a huge part in the performance – I have the space and then everything else follows. So my performance at the gallery will be connected to the play in October but distinct in its own right and have an alternate function, adapted with the venue in mind.

What can people expect from your performance?

“Everything is are already there at the END OF THE LINE – you step into a universe of its own. It’s very different from what we experience in Midtbyen or in our daily lives. I just use that to allow for an alien entity, Lo1, to enter the space.” The performance, entitled REFLECT, will take place in the mirror room of the gallery. Bowy wants the reflection of the mirrors to act as a trigger for studying the sides, corners and angles of our psyche which are not so easily found – yet with the right kaleidoscopic instrument used in order to see what’s around the corner.

“Come, and allow yourself to be uncomfortable. I think discomfort is a good sign. Normally you would refrain from feeling uncomfortable but within this setting and with this particular performance it’s actually a very good sign and it means that it’s working. The discomfort shows us that we are challenged and this is always a sign that we are going into unexplored territory – going beyond our normal ways of thinking – our programmed states of mind and thought processes.”