Butoh, an avant-garde performance art, which arose in postwar Japan, spread throughout Europe towards the end of the last century. The international dance and theatre scenes included and adopted butoh, which soon became part of popular culture as well. No wonder that some years ago we could see a butoh-style dance performance even in the video “Mein Teil” by German band Rammstein.

“Missing Portrait” by Dino Rekanović presents a chance encounter with the local butoh scene in Vienna. The floating bodies of the dancers are witnessing on the fragility of the human body and showcasing the traditional Japanese dance of darkness.

Dejan Sluga

My work with the Butoh teacher and director, Willian Lopes, started documenting one of his performances. Our work deepened and I invited his group to a studio session where this tintypes in wet plate collodion technic develop. These were shown at the Photon Gallery in early 2020.

Dancers:

Willian Lopes |  Miriam Strasser  |  Carla   |  Michael Waldeck