Water burbles, patterns and images flit through this somnambulistic installation, in which a soloist dances – a shadow diva in a shiny sequin dress. Grace Ellen Barkey, who was born in Surabaya, Indonesia, and co-founded the Belgian Needcompany to gether with Jan Lauwers, has decolonised her name for this new work. She now calls herself Grace Tjang after her grandmother. In MALAM / NIGHT she plays the dhalang, the puppeteer, in the ancient wayang pup petshadow play from Java, enchanting the audience with dreamlike poetry. Tjang’s nocturnal observations of the plants in her garden served as inspiration.
