Henrik Koppen’s performances often take the form of poetic rituals where he combines elements from religion, mythology, history, queer culture and science. Through his art practice he seeks to explore our relation to our environments and the materiality of the world, questioning the narratives and conventions that shape our reality.

“Attempts” is a series of performances that started in 2020 as a spontaneous response to the absurdity and sudden shift in reality during the first weeks of the corona pandemic. Over night we had to change our way of living, and adapt to a completely new corporeality. Even though this was a frightening time, one could also get a feeling of vast potential. Is change possible? Can humans change if we really wanted to? In these performances he acts as some sort of alchemist that through collective rituals and material transformations attempt to invoke this feeling of potentiality. The alchemist works in the intersection between science and magic, and invites the audience into a test station for potential futures. Here a space opens up where one can question our shared reality, challenge binary ways of thinking and explore what is hidden in the greyzones.