"The proximity of distance." Journey by carriage. A performance from 2021

Nezaket Ekici's new performance "The proximity of distance" was developed at Wiepersdorf Castle and deals with the long-distance relationship between Bettina and Achim von Arnim.

Ekici will leave Wiepersdorf Castle on Sunday, August 22, 2021, 2 p.m. and travel to Berlin in a carriage. The carriage ride is organized by Bergranch Nitzsche from Berkenbrück. The trip will last three days and end on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, citing the journeys Bettine and Achim von Arnim made to come to each other some two hundred years ago. To make the love between the two tangible, Ekici will recite excerpts from the couple's letters throughout the ride. If possible, the carriage will follow the historical route as recorded in the letters. It will make repeated stops to pick up passengers for a short distance.

Ekici does not travel to Berlin by car or train - she deliberately chooses a carriage ride, as was customary in the von Arnims' time. Ekici thus experiences firsthand what this form of travel entails. She tries to get a little closer to the life situation of the romantic poet couple.

The background of the performance is the question of what it means to lead a long-distance relationship - two hundred years ago and today. In this work, Ekici carries a personal experience to the outside world, as she too lives in a long-distance relationship between the cities of Berlin and Stuttgart. The inspirations for the work are the courage and creative attitude towards the world that characterize the couple Bettina and Achim von Arnim.