Sööt/Zeyringer - Other Mother
In "Other Mother", a mother and a non-mother explore the idea of motherhood. They take a look at ‘other mothers’ – women who deviate from the standard paths of motherhood, because they are perceived as too young, too old, too sexy, too selfless, too adventurous, too independent, or too difficult. Sööt/Zeyringer have researched historical events and every-day situations to uncover hidden realities of otherness in motherhood. Some of the ‘unseemly’ mothers became victims of their circumstances, others could be called monsters, and some were just, well, not all perfect.
Deconstructing found texts and images, Tiina Sööt and Dorothea Zeyringer assemble a collection of mothers who put themselves first; mothers who give too much; mothers who refuse motherhood; mothers who go to space; and mothers who are literally made of shit. This delicate and angry performance dares to speak up about issues like unpaid care work, reproductive injustices, biological concepts of maternal love, and the absence of fathers.
Tiina Sööt and Dorothea Zeyringer have been collaborating since 2012 under the label Sööt/Zeyringer. At the intersection of visual arts and choreography, their performances deal with socially relevant as well as personal topics in a poetic and humorous way. Their most recent works looked at stereotypes of women in theatre, explored female rage and documented some forgotten heroines of slapstick. Sööt/Zeyringer’s pieces have been shown, for example, at brut Wien, Tanzquartier Wien, the Wiener Festwochen, SOPHIENSÆLE, Berlin, and Schwankhalle Bremen.