Cello-ness 1

Cello-ness #1 is a complex relationship between Khabat as a performer and the materiality of the instrument within a specific environment. in this work highlights the inherent unpredictability and independence of the cello, providing unique challenges and opportunities for the performer to push the limits of the instrument for new ways of playing and adapting new techniques for the instruments, through interdisciplinary sound-based practice. This work commissioned by ame CIC 2023 performed in Zero Parameter  festival in Dai Hall huddersfield, uk  ame CIC artistic director :Ryoko Akama sound and video & photo: Joe Christman & Ryoko Akama 

Stringed Body

Stringed body In this work I use cello string on my body. I use my body as an instrument, but my body’s resonance is different. It directly communicates with the body that witnesses time and place, all through the vibration of sound, which over time has been absorbed.I cannot distance myself from political reality, and all the work is a manifestation of the social and political environment. this work was part of the Abandoned Space Project, a collaborative project between the Sonorities Festival in Belfast and the Space21 Festival in Kurdistan. The performance took place in (Amna Suraka) the Red Security Building in Sulaymaniyah city, Northern Iraq. it was a political prison constructed by Saddam Hussein for dissenters of his regime.

Bombshell cello

Photo by Liron Zisser

Bombshell cello is a new cello cut out of a bombshell I found in the bazaar of Sulaymaniyah city (Iraq) in December 2019.  the transformation of the military object into an art object, especially the cello, shows the deconstruction of the symbols of culture and violence. And on the other hand, the form of the cello had a  cultural power and indeed legalised a material that is illegal to transport. Through the form of a cello, the shell material has been transported from country to country, otherwise have not been possible; this demonstrates how society conforms to the power of the form of the cello without asking questions. The sound of the bombshell cello can represent the sound that affected our vision and taste through listening during war time and how  we perceived  sound  and how it shaped both society and individuals. 

Skin cello

Skin cello is an experimental cello that was created in 2016 using a wooden cello form and drum skin. This unique instrument expands the range of possible sounds by incorporating the materiality of the skin. The sound of the skin cello is directly affected by the environment and room temperature, resulting in constant changes in its sound. This invites the performer to explore unexpected sounds and requires a new technique to accommodate the instrument’s continuous change in sound. Listen

Circle cello

My concept originates from my experiences with the cello. As my relationship with it has evolved, so too has my technique and playing style. I’ve shifted my focus from technique to exploring the sounds I can produce. Instead of playing the “Cello” in the traditional manner, I position myself in front of the instrument. With both hands inverted from their usual positions, I am somewhat limited in traditional cello technique. However, this unconventional approach provides access to various timbres unattainable from the standard cello position.

Safety Pins

This preparation is such a way to create connections of memory, using objects that have a personal resonance (for example ‘dressing’ her instruments in safety pins like those her mother used  when she worked extra as a tailor ). or that alter her relationship with her instrument and its long memory of classical performance practice (by disordering it’s sound or its tuning). Click he

Feedback cello

The feedback cello is a collaboration project with composer and sound artist Hardi Kurda in 2014. the idea was to use the cello as a resonance box for five small speakers.

Hand Preparation

In this project, I use a hand rehabilitation object, typically employed to restore lost functions. Instead, I use it to restrict my hand’s movement. This self-imposed immobility symbolizes socio-political and cultural paralysis, physically embodying societal constraints. By limiting my own mobility, I aim to reflect on these societal restrictions and offer a concrete representation of these often abstract ideas. This work provides a profound commentary on social and political constraints. It critiques the unnoticed societal limitations, rendering complex concepts into a tangible form.

Knot cello

This is a preparation of the string of traditional cello, drawn from my experiences of learning to play in the war zone of Kurdistan-Iraq. This preparation is a representation of the physical adaptations that were necessary in my country because of the international trade embargoes, when we did not have access to materials and had to, for example, fix broken strings with knots. Therefore, I started to prepare my cello as a reflection on the sounds that were part of my daily life.

Untitled

 This preparation is a process of negotiation between us.