MOMO x Amarte Open Call 2025 | Vote Now!

at the end of the sentence, it rotted – Cecilia Feng Jensen 

When language includes and excludes depending on who does and who does not speak, ‘at the end of the sentence, it rotted’ is a transforming sound installation that reflects upon the diasporic conditions of language.

Looking upon a history of constructed languages, the installation consists ofabstractions of writing systems that together with a live soundscape are constantly transformed and turned into decay, as water is pumped in and reversed after 8 hours.

As an outsider of a language, any written or spoken words are purely strokes and phonetics; an asemic relation, when you are unable to grasp the meaning of words. Through bio-asemic rust and decay, ‘at the end of the sentence, it rotted’ searches for a language that includes all. It’s a return to a time of pre-linguistics, where sound and touch are prominent. To return to a time before words became the dominant way of communicating.

Beneath the shimmering it’s dark blue – Vera Kersting 

‘Beneath the shimmering it’s dark blue’ explores through painting, prints and documentary footage how structural violence during the Cold War have influenced (inner) worlds. These different mediums come together in an installative work. On the outside of the installation hang two painted banners inspired by a study of (western) imperialist propaganda images from 1947 until now and the visual language of anti-colonial countermovements, for example in Indonesia. Inside the installation, a video is shown that hovers between dreamlike abstraction and documentary. The installation shows the subjective and fragmented nature of history, instead a clear linear narrative. The focus is not on listing facts, but the emotional aspect of this history: how has it shaped people’s imaginations, dreams, emotions and inner perceptions? This project moves on the border between past – present, subjective – objective, personal – societal and poetically explores contemporary society with a focus on inner experiences haunted by a violent past.

Breath Taking – Flowers/Ghosts&Echoes (Gonçalo Oliveira, James Alexandropoulos-McEwan and Felix Bodin) 

“Breath Taking” is an interactive audiovisual performance where the audience’s breath powers the onstage action. 

Each audience member is given a tube to breathe into. The tubes lead to a fan. As the fan spins, an electronic system reads the fan’s speed, adjusting the volume and brightness of the performance accordingly: When no one breathes, the performance stops; when everyone breathes, it reaches full intensity.

In this performance breath is seen as an indicator of the inner emotional world of each audience member. Depending on how each viewer is feeling they will breathe in different ways, leading to a unique and dynamic performance. 

The performance is created and performed by the Hague-based audiovisual trio Flowers/Ghosts&Echoes which comprises two electric guitars and a unique live visual setup consisting of a malleable mirror and a projector. 

Cross Roads – Laura Eager & Rosa Gooij

Cross Roads is a documented performance in a taxi ride, revealing the encounters that take place between a real taxi driver, a passenger and a spectator. In a semi-fictional narrative, visual artist Laura Eager is learning to become a taxi driver, with theatre maker Rosa Gooij directing the act. Using film, audio and performance they investigate the public and private entries of a taxi, and the encounters happening between drivers and passengers. What is shared at this moment, how do they perceive or interact with one another, and what effect does this have on how they view the current world around them? 

During The MOMO Festival the public are invited to book a 20 minute time slot to experience the performance as a passenger in the car. A constant dialogue of observation and intervention is created through a live stream of the work into a video installation close by.

de-knowledge underneath – Qiaochu Guo

de-knowledge underneath is an installation, with performance, exploring how to deconstruct the intellectual hierarchies produced by language and how to move the understanding of the body outside from the Western anatomical system and find more possibility. The installation is the independent art work, and also the scenery and props activated by the performance.

This work is based on a piece of VOC’s colonial history in Indonesia – how moxibustion as indigenous medical knowledge was exploited, translated, and imported into Europe as a life-saving cure for the persistent disease of gout, and under the to the exploitative structures of anatomical medical technology of the time.(Moxibustion is a treatment burning the dried mugwort and heat the points on body, it is popular in Asian countries, and it is also my family practice, and I learned it from my mother and her community.)

The performance develops the role of the Dutch missionary through the performer’s own body as non-white and non-male, placing it in the perspective of being observed by the audience, to achieve reversing the historical power relations.Through different strategies of articulation dissolve the meaning of sentences and grammar, thus gradually transforming them into purely somatic sounds.

Henry Flowers – Mateusz Godlewski & Omer Van Soldt

Everybody wants Henry Flowers to cut off his fingers. 

Henry is very against this idea. He’s fond of his hands the way they are. He needs them for important things… Like sculpting. 

His father thinks the fingers are a distraction. It’s better to get rid of them. They’re good for nothing. 

It’s time Henry becomes a proper citizen and stops twiddling his thumbs.

Henry Flowers is a play by Light/Light Collective. 

It follows a sculptor who replaces traditional religious dogmas with a faith in artistry. As Henry tries to capture the sacred beauty he once saw in religious paintings, he realises his relationship with art starts to mirror his former faith.

Living Algorithms – Joana Carvalho 

Can human emotions truly be processed like data, or are they far too complex and unpredictable? Living Algorithms is a multidisciplinary performance that blends contemporary dance and live music to explore the complexity of human emotions. The piece challenges how society often simplifies mental health, expecting emotions to follow a clear, organized path, rather than embracing their complexity.

Through fluid movement and evolving soundscapes created live on stage, the dancers embody the tension between emotional depth and the structured ways in which we are often asked to process feelings. Each performance is unique, as the live music, composed with a loop machine and electric guitar, interacts with the dancers’ movements to create an abstract performance where the audience isn’t only a spectator but also feels involved and part of the experience. Living Algorithms invites reflection on the nuances of mental health and the intricacies of how we experience and express ourselves and our inner world.

Nachtsteen – Nual: Juul Laurenssen  & Marynke Algera 

I am Nachtsteen. In my presence, your inner world takes shape through light and shadows. I stand solid, yet I come alive when you and others join forces to guide my projections. Together, we create something new, something unique. I am more than just an object, I am the reflection of your shared creativity, waiting for you to bring me to life.

Find me in April at coordinates [{51.925673, 4.476610}]

Phantom Limb – Amos Peled 

Phantom Limb (2023) is a project exploring the enigmatic and poetic relationship between a human being and the black box that is their interior through the use of a medical ultrasound machine. Amos Peled has been developing methods to perform audio-visual manipulations which transform the ultrasound machine into an instrument that illuminates the inside of the body and expands the space of the artistic act into the organs, under the skin. The work investigates conceptions such as the distance of the human body from the idea of oneself, the hierarchical relationship between the inside and the outside, pain as a poetic message, and the lack of internal symmetry.

Playful Dreamscape – Alexandra Subota

Playful Dreamscape is an interactive installation inviting visitors to engage in play and recreation.

Incorporating sensory play, the installation consists of soft swings and atmospheric effects like fog, colourful lighting and the playful presence of soap bubbles. Playful Dreamscape is a response to the growing sense of fear, loneliness, and disillusionment in the face of global challenges. In these trying times, engaging in childlike wonder becomes a powerful tool for coping. The exaggerated softness, dazzling colours, and surreal atmosphere stand in contrast to the grayness of urban, everyday life, nurturing mental health and personal freedom through play and imagination.

SellFable: Beyond Carbon – Daniël van Nes 

Beyond Carbon is an immersive interdisciplinary performance to take place in Rotterdam, during Motel Mozaique in April, 2025.

Made by Daniel van Nes a.k.a. SellFable, Beyond Carbon showcases the quest to comprehend the human soul. Approached from the naive perspective of an entity originating from the SellFable universe. Beyond Carbon showcases the quest of this entity, that behaves like an automated AI being, to comprehend what it lacks: a human soul. This journey unfolds through expressive charcoal drawings and immersive soundscapes, blending visual art, sound, and movement to express the inner experience of both the performing entity and the audience.

The combination of the oldest drawing medium (charcoal/carbon) with cutting-edge technology—converting the drawing process into sound and visual elements—aims to get visitors to question what it means to be human.

Sentimental Archives – Czarina Calinawagan

“Sentimental Archives” is an installation of video, sound and prints inside a freight container. It shows an artistic research that investigates the port and containerization through following a set of letters and postcards from the artist’s father who worked as Filipino seafarer on container ships. These letters were dated from the 1970s to 1980s and sent home to the Philippines from ports around the world, including Rotterdam.

Warta Kawarsa: Rites of the Souls – Bintang Manira Manik 

Warta Kawarsa: Rites of the Souls is a unique, ritual-based art project that blends sound, movement, and visual installations to cleanse spaces with dark memories. Inspired by traditional purification rituals, we reimagine these practices through a contemporary lens, creating an immersive experience that fosters healing and renewal.

This journey invites deep reflection, opening a new channel for collective consciousness and paving the way for a better future. Vote for Warta Kawarsa: Rites of the Souls and be part of this transformative experience. Join us on this journey toward healing and growth.

Weird Ambiance – Toni Brell 

Weird Ambience is an interactive performance and installation by Toni Brell, focusing on sound and sensory engagement to create an intimate experience for small audiences. Drawing on Brell’s research into sensory perception, the performance uses found materials, nontraditional instruments, and everyday objects – such as pumps, resistance bands, glasses, tubes, and ceramic sculptures – to craft an ambient soundscape. Integrating sound with sight, smell, taste, and touch, Weird Ambience invites participants to find the peculiar in the familiar, fostering connections with objects, materials, and one another.

Rooted in nonbinary poetics, the work engages with gender-nonconforming experiences through sensory ambiguity, blurring the line between utility and art to create both visual and sonic ambiguity.

World Of Genisu – Mo Meyer 

Much of what I experienced in my childhood had become deeply embedded in my subconscious. The run-up to this album was quite long and came about mostly through therapy and opening up towards close friends. One of those friends I shared my traumatic experiences with, was Bas. He and I are both part of the Rotterdam-based artist collective Cobra unit, we produce music and make art in our free time. 

World Of Ginesu started as self-portraits I made during the time I struggled the most, but I could still find inspiration to create, express and empower. Then came the writing process in the forms of rap, spoken word and journaling. One thing led to another and before Bas and I realized it, both visually and sonically we were working on a full length album.

Do you have questions about the open call, the process or the theme? Open Call coordinator Ezgi is happy to help, feel free to reach out via opencall@motelmozaique.nl.