Maria Hassabi has created performances and live installations for over two decades, carving a distinct artistic practice defined by stillness, deceleration, and aesthetic precision. Hassabi’s works reflect on concepts of time and the human figure while she employs a variety of media to emphasize the intricacies of formal organization.

Expectations are in the forefront of Hassabi’s new creation “On Stage”, a solo for theater stages performed by Hassabi herself. In this new work a solo figure casually installed at the front of the stage morphs seamlessly from one iconic image to the next. The enacted poses, all infiltrated in a mode of a grand presentation, are held in long frames of stillness, giving time to the viewer to see each embodied position. The sound score moves in and out of recognizable references building an emotional world of a spectacle meant to take place. The lighting design enhances the performer’s spatial choice by revealing them as the central figure, performing here and now for their audience. Performative archetypes are in play while duration takes over.

The performer’s intensity becomes visible and almost tangible and an intimate exchange with the audience is at stake.