Western Front is pleased to present an evening of live performance by the Basque artist Itziar Okariz, offering an introduction to her practice ahead of a workshop series with students and recent alumni from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. The evening will feature two works that explore language, sound, and the body, built from small linguistic units and signs that generate meaning through reiteration.
In 'Dream Diary,' Okariz continues her practice of recording dreams. In the month before the performance, she keeps a diary of recollections written immediately upon waking—brief impressions that often take the form of vivid narratives or fleeting images. During the performance, these texts are transformed through fragmented, cyclical readings: phrases are multiplied, inverted, and connected, with each reading carrying the last word into the next. Gradually, the full dream emerges.
The program concludes with 'Ocean Breath,' a collaboration with Izar Okariz. Drawing on ujjayi breathing—a yogic technique reminiscent of ocean waves—the work amplifies breath through microphones as two performers inhale and exhale, sometimes in sync, sometimes not. This accumulative chorus of breaths shifts between abstraction and figuration, evoking the rhythm of the sea.
Presented in partnership with Libby Leshgold Gallery and Emily Carr University of Art + Design. This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada.
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