Silverfish or Palimpsest Body.

Silverfish or PALIMPSEST BODY.

Tuğçe Ulugün Tuna, a prominent and innovative figure in contemporary dance, presents a solo performance that explores the intersection of her artistic practice with philosophical and biological perspectives. "Silverfish or PALIMPSEST BODY" It invites the audience to experience the unsettling boundaries of kinesthetic archaeology and somatic transformation.

The artist, having experienced a medical crisis and subsequent treatment, chose to transform their own body into a site of kinesthetic archaeology. They created the concept, choreography, text, costumes, sound, and videos with a holistic approach, and within the performance, they developed an interactive narrative strategy, engaging with the audience through taste, smell, and spatial relationships.

For Tuğçe Ulugün Tuna, the body is more than just a biological structure; it's a continuous process that bears the marks of time, trauma, healing, and movement. The dancer's body is a... It is a palimpsest..

The dancer, following a medical crisis, chooses to transform her body, filtering it through the lens of time and space, thereby turning it into a site of kinesthetic archaeology. "11 o'clock" or "At 11 o'clock."This performance represents not only a medical aspect, but also the intersection point where the destructive effects of chemotherapy meet the renewed memory.

"Atherina" The work features a neoplastic silver fish found within Tuna's body. Following a treatment process aimed at "erasing" the body's previous state, the artist redefines the body's landscape, accepting the traces, losses, and echoes of the experience as a new memory of the body and movement.

The artist argues that each choreography they participate in adds a new layer to the palimpsest-like structure of their body, and that each dance performance is an ontological construction built within these layers.

Tuna summarizes the essence of this groundbreaking work, which establishes a new foundation for the movement, with the following words:

"I am not a destination, but a process. My body is the best vehicle for experiencing time."

Premiere.

March 1926, Sweden – 3rd Floor.

Team.

Silverfish or Palimpsest Body.
Concept, Choreography, Text, and Dance Artist: Tuğçe Ulugün Tuna.

Sound Design: Vahit Tuna, Tuğçe U. Tuna.

Costume, Audio, and Video Editing: Tuğçe U. Tuna

Production: Odo Construction.

Executive Producer: Emre Can Sancar.

Game Photos: Volkan Erkan, Murat Durum.

Video Sections / Performance

"Office Island"
Sweden Camera: John Areblad, 3rd Floor DS, Canvass Film – 2025.

"Don't Steal the Tree"
Camera: Tuğçe U. Tuna, Salzburg – 2025.

"Hospital"
Camera: Melisa Önel (in collaboration with İnanç Sümbüloğlu), Istanbul – 2024.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Lal and Vahit, to the team at 3:e Våningen DS, to the artists I collaborated with, to my friends, and to Professors Orhan Ağcaoğlu, Fatih Selçukbiricik, and Bülent Bayraktar (and their wonderful teams).