During their residency at Pianofabriek, YLÏAM will explore how grief has influenced their recent work, and it could be the bridge between the visual and the sonic of their artistic practice.
“After a big loss, mixtures of traditional prayers of Buddhism
and personal lovely memories turned into
short pop-punk songs of repetitive mantras.
Lyrics, poems, jokes and loops were not only sung
but also written and drawn like a monk, repetitively.
These then became images, and vice versa.
While singing alone, I noticed how grief is often an isolated experience, here. How can this lonely practice of grieving become shared, maybe a little bit funny too, or just experienced differently than what we know now? ”
Within the walls of the busy cultural hub of Brussels, YLÏAM hopes to encounter stories and experiences around various grieving experiences at Pianofabriek and its surroundings to the process of their new creation.
They will hold moments for encounters, formal and informal around their work and the topic of alternative grieving rituals. A public survey will also be launched through their self-publishing platform COMPLEX BUSINESS, extending the research beyond the residency walls.
YLÏAM [Maïly Beyrens Xu] is known for poetic, queer, post-human & humorous explorations of everyday life, using live sound performance, video & in situ installations. With a focus on collaboration, they explore how art meets the public, using sound and space to evoke shared stories.
YLÏAM also produces music, designs sound, and works with collectives like VZWEETJE and Amadeo Kollectif to create inclusive, participatory art experiences.
