WILL WILL
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 145, famously revolving around the transition from hatred to love, becomes the backdrop for an unsettling deconstruction of emotional expression. The phrase "I hate" from the sonnet is reimagined in this performance as a visceral and raw rejection, amplified by the act of hurling sunflower seeds at the audience—a symbolic act of sowing hostility rather than harmony. The artificial fur costume embodies an exaggerated, primal, and almost grotesque version of the self, shielding vulnerability while magnifying inner turmoil.
By choosing fur as a material, the performance comments on the tension between natural instincts and artificiality, while the seeds—often associated with growth and potential—become an ironic tool of rejection. The juxtaposition of this gentle object with the aggressive act of throwing them underscores the contradictions in human communication, particularly when charged with emotions like hate.
Through the repetition of the word "I HATE," the performance explores how language can become empty, cyclical, and cathartic. It questions whether hatred is a definitive sentiment or simply a prelude to transformation.
The work engages the audience directly, not only as witnesses but as recipients of these emotional projections, challenging their passive role in the performance. This creates an unsettling tension between performer and spectator, much like the dualities within the sonnet itself—hate and love, rejection and acceptance.
Ultimately, WILL WILL examines the power of words, actions, and symbols in shaping our emotional landscapes and the fragile, shifting boundaries between love and hatred.
Scenography Class of Anna Viebrock, Rundgang Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
Performance and Design: Iva Ivanova
2015
Semperdepot, Vienna
© Photos: Artemiy Shokin