artist in residence

Pontus Pettersson is this Protozone’s artist in residence. Throughout his time at Shedhalle for Are you coming? Pettersson will base his investigation on his ongoing project Bodies of Water, using this as an open model to invite in and connect to the larger Zurich audience.

Departing from Russian Marxist activist Alexandra Kollontai’s texts on love and Astrida Neimanis’ work with Hydrofeminism, the work attempts to embody and become water on a molecular level through language, objects stitched and worn, sound, relational tactics, and dance. Bodies of Water is part of Pettersson’s extended research ‘All Departures Are Waves’ (2019-), which brings forward the ecological, performative, political, economic, ethical, and narrative qualities that water entails and unleashes.

Pontus Pettersson (b. 1983, Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish choreographer and artist based in Stockholm. Working professionally as a dancer since his graduation at Skolen for Moderne Dance in Copenhagen (2007) – Pettersson embarked on a diverse and spread out career working with world class choreographers. Pettersson has throughout his career worked on situations where inviting other artists has been a crucial aspect of understanding his work in a greater whole as well as working for a broader field of expressions and inclusion. Projects like The Poeticians and My Wild Flag and his latest workshop project Delta, hospitality being one of his main conceptual concerns, seen as a choreographic principal for dance/art to emerge. Pettersson holds two masters, one in choreography from SKH, and one in visual arts at Konstfack. He is an affiliated artist at the theatre Weld in Stockholm and the research center MARC in Knislinge, Sweden and his work is supported by the Swedish Arts Grants Committee, Swedish Arts Council, and Stockholm City Council of Culture.