The Transnational Opera of Objects and People had been created around the triad of sound, image and collective action. The idea of a collective project (Anya Charikov-Micklburgh, Anna Mokhova, Natalia Skobeeva, Natalja Vikulina) was to create an artwork exploring the multiplicity of language derived from the polyphony of different voices and narratives.
The story of the word “Shibboleth” was told in the Bible. It is a story where the language had become a deathly weapon: forty thousand of Ephraimites had died only because they couldn’t pronounce this word correctly. The language here was used as a marker, as a border to distinguish the “others”. Would it be possible to use the language the other way around—to destroy the existing borders: between artists and audience, between material objects and living things, between locals and those who are from the outside, between fiction and document?
A key property of the project is that there is no one author’s voice, but there is a polyphony of voices of many authors that, being put in the space of the project, create one shared statement. Paintings by Anya Charikov-Mickleburgh and sculptures by Anya Mokhova, combined with the emotionally and visually charged voice of the exhibition space itself created a visual polyphony of the project.
The sound was created by Natalja Vikulina and Natalia Skobeeva, as well as by the participants of the workshops —local people and fellow artists of Shiryaevo X biennial.
The text of libretto, woven by Natalia Skobeeva from the quotes of philosophers, is performed by computer. This robotic song is mixed up with sounds, created and recorded during the workshops (run by Natalja Vikulina). In the centre of the installation is video documentation of the project (created by Natalja Vikulina). Here, as in a mirror, one can see the space of the house, the installation itself, as well as all participants, captured in the process of creation of the Opera.
Opera Shibboleth – is a space of expression, where everyone can find its place. The traditional Russian house, “izba”, in which the project has been placed, suited for this purpose perfectly. Lacking the sterility of traditional “white cube” gallery space, izba is a statement by itself. The environment of izba with its stove, bed, and cradle, with the wooden walls, with its inimitable scent had become an ideal scene for the Opera.