I måsars närvaro, och hästars

Kärleksfull uppmärksamhet och en teater utan ego i Pipsa Lonkas fyra dagar av närhet

Authors

• Sofia Aminoff

Abstract

“In the presence of seagulls, and horses: Loving attention and a theater without ego in Pipsa Lonka’s Sky Every Day” describes the process of translating Lonka’s play from Finnish to Swedish, and the experiences of peacefulness, lucidity, and connection with seagulls I had during it. I show how the presence of seagulls is achieved by animal ethical- and post-anthropocentric dramaturgical strategies of meditation, a redirection of the gaze, and a renegotiation of space, that strive to overcome the duality of the human-animal relationship. The dramatical effect I interpret as a form of non-art, a theatre without ego, that I compare to the metaphysics of Simone Weil and Iris Murdoch, Buddhist philosophy and the animal ethics of Elisa Aaltola, as well as the interaction with my horses. I perceive this as a call to attention, where withdrawal of “the self” becomes an act of love.