Amaro Dive – ISAAC DHAM

Halfway between performance and multimedia installation, Amaro Dive provides a tangible gateway into a journey that is both personal and universally artistic and philosophical. Above all, this project is a celebration of infinity, numbers, and matter. The apothegm « God is dead » serves as the starting point for this project. This signifies the death of ideological and moral foundations, leading to the decline of an anthropocentric metaphysics in favor of a spirituality focused on Nature, understood as inert matter and its functioning. The image of the Tree emerges as a central symbol in this journey.

Bringing together music, dance, performance, fashion, sculpture, and installation, AMARO DIVE aspires to a « total » character, expressing a desire to transcend the distinction between artistic disciplines. This is achieved both through its synthesis of different media (sculpture, couture, music, choreography, etc.) and through the synergy of senses that results from it.
The use of bodies as static elements of contemplation reinforces the project’s core message while adding a psychologically unsettling dimension. This installation is also « total » in its ambition, exploring profound themes that juxtapose metaphysical theo- and bio-centric ideas. with an individual’s questioning of their own condition and will. The second performance of this project, LA GRANDE CEREMONIE took place at the ANCIEN MUSEE DE PEINTURE IN GRENOBLE on February 8, 2024.

with contributions from :

Nina Deslandes, Elyna Theuambounmy, Joshua Fleurence, Vicent Quiroz Macabeo, Emma Polisena Carrier, Romane Grima, Kim Gahyun, Amine Benejja, Eloïse Caire, Maximo Morales, Noé Breney

The second performance of AMARO DIVE was filmed by several cameras. One of them, a HI-8 camera acquired in 2002, captured the performance in a particularly cryptic way.

With a fixed shot, it reveals the scene with an unprecedented aesthetic: muted and dark colors, numerous visual glitches, long oppressive zooms…
This alternative recording of the second performance of The Grand Ceremony seeks to diversify the possible interpretations of this project and open a dialogue on the controversies surrounding worship.
The spiritual ceremony then transforms into a sectarian ritual. The anti-anthropocentric philosophy of returning to matter becomes synonymous with an apology for suicide.

This video serves as a way to point out the excesses of such discourse and to take a step back from this project. It also highlights the mechanisms of visual persuasion, offering a sociological perspective on the impact of visual material. At the same time, the aesthetic of this video introduces a phase of creation inspired by darker and more brutal themes.

This living installation concluded the first performance of Amaro Dive. The final dance ended with the performers collectively freezing in place, thus introducing a transformation in the nature of the project. The spectators were then invited to step into the ceremonial space, viewing the performers as living statues. The stillness of the performers contributes to a dehumanization of the bodies, illustrating the anti-anthropological intent of the project and unsettling the audience. It also blurs the boundary between the concepts of performance and installation.