Still Lives - Essen began on the streets of Essen, where passers-by were interviewed and asked to describe Stumbling Block, a photo by Jeff Wall of a post industrial urban environment – unspectacular but nevertheless containing strong dramatic potential.

The photo serves as a filter – the descriptions given by the people questioned provide information not only about themselves and their individual perceptions but also about a city and its different social realities. These recorded interviews are played throughout the performance and form a continuous backtrack against which the scenes and choreography develop.

Still Lives - Essen is concerned with the body in a socio-political context, with how opinions and standpoints relate, and with the role of the observer and his view on the world. It allows for space between reality and fiction; between predictions and illusions or manipulation.