Through an encounter in this very moment, we are able to explore the paths and circumstances that brought us here and to leave a trace of our presence for the future. By inhabiting the here and now, we investigate time, space, atmosphere, and relationships on physical, mental, and artistic levels. It is especially important to us that within the renewed space of Tselinny, the past and the future converge, and that this convergence becomes a point and place of meeting.

In the performance “Imprint of the Moment,” we explore the present moment as shaped by context: the sgraffito of the past forms our now; the renewed space of Tselinny offers echoes of the future; and we, here and now, perceive and process this information, leaving behind a trace or an imprint. This imprint may exist only in the present moment, yet its effects can ripple outward, like circles on water.

The performance is structured in three segments: past, present, and future. Each leaves its own distinct imprint, both in physical space and in the space of perception. In the past segment, the audience encounters a compilation of archival documentation of Yevgeny Sidorkin’s sgraffito, placed in dialogue with the conceptual framework of Tselinny, as well as a record of the collaborative history between Deistvie Bukvalno, the Inclusive Theatre Lab and the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture, presented through a video by Aisultan Seitov. In the present segment, the performers invite the audience into active co-participation. On paper aq jol pathways unfolded throughout the space, each participant is able to leave their own imprint using a unique performative technique.

This trace is captured by a camera in real time and projected onto a screen. A key connective thread between the temporal layers is formed by the costumes, created by Tamara Said and Ayan Marrokansky (Ekınşı) through the transformation of sgraffito elements using patchwork techniques.

In the future segment, the performers create a shimmering mirage of what is to come, and then dissolve into a veil of light.