Performance (EN)
Sanna Helena Berger: Schmutztitel

Schmutztitel is a newly conceived performance by Sanna Helena Berger, expanding on the themes of visual dominance, adaptation and authorship introduced in her sculptural installation of the same name. Presented as a monologue accompanied by projected scenes and live music, the work draws from Elfriede Jelinek’s 1983 novel Die Klavierspielerin and Michael Haneke’s 2001 film adaptation La Pianiste. 

The performance unfolds across two acts, separated by a musical interlude, evoking the tonal dissonance between the literary source and its cinematic rendering. Berger takes on the role of narrator, director and performer, positioning herself in the interstitial space between text and image, original and adaptation. Through these gestures she addresses the dynamics of authorship and control: whose version is seen, whose voice is heard?

Berger interrogates the ways in which visual representation can flatten, reframe or overwrite complex textual narratives. Jelinek’s dissonant, often controversial literary voice – marked by fragmentation, repetition and interiority – is contrasted with Haneke’s composed and predominantly male gaze.

The performance questions the politics of adaptation and the mechanics of cultural memory. It foregrounds the ways in which narratives by and about women are shaped, mediated and distorted, often by visual culture. In doing so, Schmutztitel offers a critical reflection on the unequal exchange between text and image, and on the enduring legacy of Jelinek’s provocations.

The performance is free with a valid exhibition ticket.

Sanna Helena Berger

Sanna Helena Berger (b. 1983, Sweden) is a self-taught artist working with site and situation-specific installations. Berger’s work has been shown at Rinde am Rhein, Düsseldorf; Centralbanken, Oslo; Kaiserwache, Freiburg; Cittipunkt, Berlin (all 2024); Den Frie, Copenhagen; Baerum Kunsthall, Oslo; Galerija Miroslav Kraljević, Zagreb; Waf Galerie, Vienna; Skånes Konstförening, Malmö (all 2023); Kunsthalle Bremerhaven; Spazio ORR, Brescia (both 2022); and Cell Project Space, London (2020). Berger lives and works in Berlin.