Transnomia

Transnomia was a practice co-developed by Dmitry Paranyushkin and Diego Agullo between 2010 and 2012. In this practice, we were exploring the relation between meaning and making sense. We were particularly interested in developing a private language that could be shared between two people but never be really understood from the outside. A semantic construct, based on movements and words, that has a well-formed, but cryptic structure, almost like a discovered language that can never be translated.

Transnomia would manifest through various performances and events. We hosted presentations in various venues like a contemporary dance venue Sophiensaele, an abandoned chapel at PAF in France, BRUT theater in Vienna. We also maintained an online archive of transnomic events and artefacts as well as a special “metastable” label designed for the objects that had multiple uses.

The meaning of the word “Transnomia” relates to the condition marked by value instability, which arises during the transition between the different, often contradicting systems of beliefs. For instance, it may occur during the transition from childhood to adolescence but also when one is forced to change their position because of a dramatic event. This in-between state is characterized by a temporary suspension of meaning. Things don’t make sense in the old way anymore and there is not yet a new logical system in place. This transnomic state is characterized by metastability — a temporary equilibrium that may be changed even by a small perturbation in an unpredictable direction. We were really interested in recreating this state in a live setting on stage to invite our audience and ourselves into the world of signs that appear to have meaning but don’t yet make sense.

 

Date

April 19, 2010

Tags

belief, discourse, friendship, performance, religion

Supporters

Tanztage, PAF, Arsenal

Years Active

2010-2012

Mission Objective

To give visibility to the space that emerges after something acquires meaning but does not yet make sense.

Contexts

Discourse, Performance, Contemporary Dance, Business, Retail

Participants

Dmitry Paranyushkin and Diego Agullo

Category

Archive, Dance, Discourse, Enterprise, Format, Framework, Performance, Practice