Hidden away in cellars and archaeological museums, behind coffee machines, in cramped offices or dusty storage spaces, we still find replicas of Greco-Roman sculptures. Seemingly unmoved, they await their sporadic visitors. In the meantime, they carry improbable stories, marked by migration, deterioration and restoration. These plaster casts are copies of classical sculptures, most of them of mythological figures. They are often combinations of different originals. Their missing parts are in some way even more present than what is still visible today. 

Cast Witnesses tries to relate to these leftovers of earlier civilizations and sees these plaster figures as symbols of our collective pain and desire. Over time, archaeological replicas of this kind reinforce stereotypical body proportions and gestures. Can we re-read history by breaking through these idealized human images? In this videographic episode of the project, a small group of researchers approaches their disjointed counterparts with self-designed therapeutic rituals.

 As you sit and watch the plaster sculptures on the screen, you may shuffle in your chair, search for the best position for your legs to support your hips, tilt your head to one side. Can you retrieve the stories carried inside your body?

➤ DOUBLE BILL: Alma Söderberg Nadita