25th – 28h June.
Part of the Holland Festival.
One of the biggest scandals in the art world lies at the heart of Lukasz Twarkowski’s performance ROHTKO. In 2004, a couple bought a painting by Mark Rothko for $8.3 million. Years later, it turns out to be not by Rothko himself, but by a Chinese maths teacher from Queens who also forged works by Jackson Pollock. Can a fake painting evoke real feelings? What is real art and what is it worth?
In just under four hours of steaming beats and two huge video screens, the creators of ROHTKO go in search of answers, assisted by philosopher Byung-Chul Han’s book Shanzai: Deconstruction in Chinese on the value of real and fake. ‘Shanzhai’ refers to a unique blend of imitation, innovation, and affordable, locally adapted versions of popular products in Chinese culture.
The production is brought to life by Dailes Theatre (Latvia) in collaboration with Twarkowski’s close creative team and actors from Latvia, Poland and China.
‘I believe that theatre is the kind of art that has the possibility of finding a way of communication completely beyond language.’ – Łukasz Twarkowski
