The performance Do You Smell This? explores the dynamics of living together. Global challenges, such as the war in Ukraine and global climate change, once again fundamentally call into question how we live together. What resources are available to us? And how much can we claim for ourselves?

Through a journey to the Caucasus undertaken by performers Manuela Luterbacher and Sara Koller in 2022, the performance also explores coexistence on a smaller scale, between two individuals. The two women have known each other for only two years and decided to embark on an artistic collaboration for the first time. This sensitive and vulnerable undertaking evolved day by day during their journey from Bern to Yerevan, for which they allowed themselves five weeks, travelling exclusively by bus and train.

The eight borders they had to cross along the way repeatedly reminded them of how these fragile structures shape our ability to live together. Before each border, people become nervous; mistrust and fear hang in the air. Will I be allowed to cross? Will I be accepted in the other country?

Travelling is an act of balance that confronts us with fundamental questions about reaching out to one another and living together. What do I need? What can I give? Do I trust others?

The war in Ukraine reopens old wounds in Georgia and fuels fears of another Russian attack. Since the beginning of the war, a huge number of Russians have fled to Georgia. The terms of coexistence must now be renegotiated. Georgians speak English with the new arrivals as a way of turning to a more neutral language, avoiding Russian and the painful past associated with it.

On the doors of some restaurants, signs declare that Russia is an aggressor and occupier, and that anyone who disagrees is not welcome. How do I respond when I disagree with someone else’s opinion? Do I end the conversation and walk away in order to remain true to my principles? How can we shape a way of living together that is acceptable to everyone while allowing each person the space they need?

Following the performance Writing with Color at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Tbilisi, these thoughts and questions were revisited and translated into a new artistic language. Throughout their journey, the performers collected audio and video material, which they developed into soundscapes and enriched with additional elements.

Good, homemade food is an essential part of Georgian hospitality, helping guests feel at home and at ease. Ninutsa Shatberashvili, a food performer from Georgia, travelled to Switzerland to add another dimension to the experience of togetherness, enriching it with scent and taste.

Photography: Nikoloz Mdivani, Center for Contemporary Arts in Tbilisi and Dampfzentrale Bern / Manuela Luterbacher, Temple allemand in La Chaux-de-Fonds