Mercenary, 2023 (in collaboration with Kobi Swissa and Yoel Peled)

"Mercenary" combines materials from the construction field and ideas of lasting, dissolving and freelancing. It examines multiple physical ways of dealing with emergencies, and transforming the body into a “working” tool. Two performers  (Noa Simhayof Shahaf and Kobi Swissa) alternately move as obedient machines and rebellious deserters. The performance is accompanied by a third performer (Yoel Feld), who creates live sound and light, allowing the audience to dive into an ex-territory where glass, wood, iron, and sand coexist as remnants of an old world.

The choreography oscillates between aggressive hovering and free falls, playing on the dual connotation of the mercenary—on one hand, operating alone, seemingly free and independent, and on the other, a hired hand, subjected to the totalitarian regime that sent them on their way. As the performance nears its end, the space is plunged into complete darkness. From this void, a drone rises, illuminating the performers and the audience with an emergency-like light, overseeing the scene in a manner that is both technological and poetic.


Performance, 50 minutes.

The work was performed as part of out-of-office, a series of events at the Center for Contemporary Art Tel Aviv.