Jan Fabre Teaching Group

Exercise: Ecstasy | Exercise dedicated to Els Deceukelier, the incarnation of ecstasy, in many of Fabre’s productions.

'During the whole of his career Fabre has been interested in the ecstasy-body and in reaching out to a spiritual dimension; and ecstasy is pre-eminently the kind of model in which the body resigns and transcends itself. To Fabre, ecstasy is the superlative step of the performance, which he notes in his Nocturnal: “Pretending should become real (from theatre to performance). The real needs to be a necessity (from performance to ecstasy).' - Jan Fabre & Luk Van den Dries 'From Act to Acting: Jan Fabre’s Guidelines for the Performer of the 21st century'

In image performer: Stella Höttler
Photographer 📷 : Lieven Herreman

Now on view at the Biblioteca Bernardini di Lecce: JAN FABRE. BORROWED TIME.
Accompanying the opening of the JAN FABRE ARCHIVE AND TEACHING CENTRE, Curated by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, the exhibition BORROWED TIME brings together more than 200 works, including Jan Fabre's theatre drawings and theatrical photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe, Helmut Newton, Dirk Braeckman and Jorge Molder.

Together, these works reveal the enduring dialogue between theatre and visual art that has defined Fabre's oeuvre for decades.

These celebrated photographers reveal different dimensions of Fabre's theatrical universe, capturing the body as a site of transformation, memory and ritual. Together, their images create a powerful dialogue between performance and visual art, inviting visitors into a world where time appears suspended.

On view until 9 May 2027.
Organized by the Polo Biblio-Museale of Lecce (Museo Castromediano - Lecce) with the support of Mucciaccia Gallery, Rome and Cortina d’Ampezzo

In 1987 Helmut Newton photographed the Troubleyn/Jan Fabre performance 'Das Glas im Kopf wird vom Glas (The Dance Sections)'. Scenography, choreography: Jan Fabre. Composer: Henryk Mikołaj Górecki.

In Photo: Dutch dancer Maria Voortman.