When I first interacted with Lukas Tarkowski’s world of performance, I felt like diving deeply and rapidly into a fascinating universe where humans reveal their own vulnerability. It’s a dimension that primarily discusses feelings and sensations in a productivity-driven world, exploring the boundary of what it means to be human in a roboticized, corporate environment.
Who is Łukasz Twarkowski? He is a director, set designer and creator of multimedia performances that combine theater and visual arts. Over the last 10 years, he has worked alongside the famous Krystian Lupa, including for the play “The Trial.” His tendency towards holistic approaches led him to establish the Identity Problem Group, an interdisciplinary community that seeks to combine visuals and performance with literature, architecture, and the art of sound.
At FITS 2024, we will be able to see the installation-performance “The Employees” based on a dystopian science fiction story. Aboard a spaceship traveling light-years away from Earth, humans and humanoid robots coexist. In these conditions, a closed community is forced to confront issues concerning the differences between humans and non-human creatures, as well as the essence of consciousness.
What convinced you to create a play based on Olga Ravn’s novel?
Łukasz Twarkowski: I must admit that I had doubts when they first proposed working on the book’s script because the subject was interesting about 10-12 years ago when the people I worked with were interested in post-humanism, and ideas about cyborgizing humans had just emerged. However, now it’s quite mainstream, and I was very skeptical about being interested in this topic. But then, while reading, I was amazed by the depth of this novel. Also, I rarely work with texts from novels as the basis for my performances. What convinced me was the essence of this book—how Olga found a way to talk about our humanity, like a mirror reflecting in humanoids. The genesis of this book fascinated me, especially because it started as curatorial text for a sculpture exhibition. In fact, it consists of three parts of an installation, through which Olga proposes an interactive novel from the beginning.
What does human nature mean to you? Could it be reproduced without being… born?
Łukasz Twarkowski: I don’t have a simple answer to this complex question. Human nature, which is inherently connected to consciousness, is one of our main concerns in our research—not only for this play but also in other contexts. Of course, it plays a central role here because it speaks directly to the boundary between what is human and what is created by humans. The interplay of these two dimensions, without clear delimitation, is what makes Olga’s book extremely interesting. We never know if we’re dealing with a human or a humanoid. That ambiguity defines humanity. Do they truly possess consciousness, or do they merely act as such to impact us? This leads to the next question.
The play explores the dystopian world of a spaceship investigating a new planet far from Earth… I wonder how this relates to the title, “The Employees”…
Łukasz Twarkowski: The title of the play, the book… it’s a rich and layered discussion that unfortunately, I neglected on set. There’s an interesting parallel between the idea of being an employee—both humans and humanoids are employed. It was the first English translation, and I appreciate this concise title. I liked it because there are many similarities between the concept of being an employee and the bureaucratic organization of the spaceship. However, “The Employees” also explores the type of relationship between humans and humanoids.
The first question, when we think about this interaction, is whether the barrier between human and robot can become imperceptible, and if the creature in front of us will behave exactly like a human. We will always wonder if a robot can feel and what the dynamics are in this relationship, especially when we feel vulnerable. It’s a perspective similar to how we approach the situation of actors employed in a theater—they are hired to make us feel something, much like humanoids. Humanoids are structured based on algorithms in such a way that they can emotionally affect us, but we still don’t know for sure what happens inside of them. In fact, we create similar relationships with actors who work on stage in front of us, precisely to evoke emotions.
What is your opinion on the evolution of theater toward multimedia?
Łukasz Twarkowski: The evolution of theater is unpredictable, and it’s challenging to predict. It’s like asking where music can go. There are so many different genres, an infinite universe taking infinite forms, and the same applies to theater—it can go anywhere. Especially now, with technological immersion, I find it to be the only way to discuss human beings. We are so connected to this technological world—right now, we’re conducting this interview through my phone using an app, reaching each other in an instant. There are no longer distances or time gaps. It’s as if we live simultaneously across all social media platforms. We create avatars that sometimes hold the same importance as reality. In fact, we’ve become less present, less attuned to reality.
Everything happened so quickly that we didn’t even perceive that moment. As Jean Baudrillard wrote in the early ’80s in his book “Simulation and Simulacra,” we live in a hyper-real time. We no longer live in reality. To create realities that embody this contemporary experience, I believe it’s necessary to use technology to showcase the full spectrum of human life. This is closely connected to the first question because we find ourselves in a dimension of exploring experience that could shape the artistic form where consciousness can manifest—not necessarily on stage, but in the minds of the spectators. For this purpose, the use of videos and images is highly valuable.
What does music mean to you and how do you integrate it into your shows?
Łukasz Twarkowski: Music is one of the most important elements – just like videos – and I don’t know how I could create a performance without it. It’s connected to many things, not just the music itself, but also the sonic space in which the show unfolds. It’s highly personalized, like a backdrop, and usually, music plays an extremely important role in certain scenes where you need powerful, high-pitched sounds. My attitude toward music also stems from my enjoyment of electronic music or other musical experiences outside the theater sphere, which are difficult to explain intellectually. It truly is a sensual experience that we want to offer using sound in general, so I could say that I can’t imagine my work without music. It’s also closely tied to how we construct our world because after weeks and months of rehearsals, a strong connection has formed between me and Lubomir Grzelak, who is present during all rehearsals. He has been instrumental in building the show, adding layers of improvisation and composing new melodies exclusively for the performance.
You don’t provide answers in your performances, but you certainly ask questions. What does it mean for you to place certain themes under the sign of questioning?
Łukasz Twarkowski: You’re right. What interests me the most is observing phenomena connected to our contemporary consciousness, such as how we live or how we prepare for technology-related events. I believe this performance is about asking questions, insofar as questioning means undermining the current status quo of humanity. It’s incredible how deeply Olga has delved into our experiences at a fundamental, basic, primal level. And that’s where the beauty lies.
She digs into the fundamental aspects of existence, basic emotions, basic sensations, and questions how we experience them to understand how humanoids learn from us and how this miracle of consciousness operates. I think this is one of the most beautiful aspects of the show, and that’s what we’ve tried to explore through this performance. The two major engines of the story are Eros and Thanatos, love and death, the two forces that could determine humanoids to function as we do, and here we find the meeting point between humans and humanoids. Perhaps this is the greatest tragedy for humans facing machines or facing a non-organic form of… life that has no expiration date, thus revealing the beauty of life’s fragility and human existence.”
Photo credit: Natalia Kabanow
