Saâdane Afif: The Old, Melancholic Beat

Tuesday, 23.06.2026, 8.30 p.m.
KM28
Karl-Marx-Strasse 28, 12043 Berlin

The Old, Live 2026
Bass Flute: Rebecca Lane
Voice: Kristia Michael
Composition, Electronics: Lucie Nezri

Twelve texts were written in response to The Old – a group of works that references Jeff Koons’ famous series The New, and that engages with the decline of objects, bodies, and societal models. Drawing from a chorus here, a verse there, composer Lucie Nezri draws on a personal cut-up of these texts to bring them to life.

Melancholic Beat, Live 2026
Voice, Fixed Media: Ugnė Uma

It was in 2004, on the occasion of his exhibition Melancholic Beat, that Afif commissioned song texts for the first time, written in dialogue with his works. The four texts were written at the time by the artist Lili Reynaud-Dewar; they now will be performed by Ugnė Uma.

The performance Melancholic Beat, Live 2026 is a commission by the Museum Folkwang in Essen as part of the exhibition Saâdane Afif. Affiches / Plakate, 13.03. – 04.10.2026,  Concert in Essen: 03.09.2026

Image:
S.A., The Old, 2025
© Saȃdane Afif. VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026. Fotos / Photos: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Jacopo La Forgia