Intentions of Light

The performance is inspired by a Mavlana Rumi's poem, Persian philosopher, who lived in the XIII century. It was the story of a competition between the Chinese and the Byzantines, launched to determine which people was the best in the art of painting. The challenge took place in the sultan's residence in two identical rooms, placed opposite one another. The Chinese asked the sultan 100 colors to accomplish their work, the Byzantines instead just clean up the walls from rust and dirt, until they became clear as the sky. When the Chinese have finished their work, they were satisfied, even the sultan was impressed by the painting, but his surprise was greater when he discovered the work of the Byzantines. Thanks to the purity achieved on the walls, the Chinese's painting was reflected in the work of the Byzantines, with a brilliance that exceeded any expectation. The performance is enabled by a painter, Mahmoud Saleh Mohammadi, and a Japanese opera singer, Akiko Kozato: while the painter paints the canvas, the singer clears the wall in front the paint revealing a mirror under the dirt. The idea that moves this project it to transfer into a concrete action the philosophy that animates the play of Rumi.