Trauma Then, Trauma Now
A ‘Remote Residency’ commission supported by Manchester International Festival
The Algerian Civil War was preceded by a number of internal conflicts in the late 1980’s and early 90’s. Gradually, a large, barbaric extremist group was formed, which terrorised the nation for a decade. Throughout the conflict, groups would build shelters and bases in rural parts of the country, which were often destroyed by the Algerian government by burning forests, leading to huge levels of deforestation and damage.
Hadjazi’s filmed performance, in collaboration with dramaturg illyr, embodies emotional and physical interpretations of the trauma provoked by the Civil War. Each individual movement revisits a place in time of conflict and colonial damage, inspired by the psychoanalytic practice of EMDR – a technique often used for patients suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This technique can allow for the brain to be distracted from the body, meaning memories are able to be reprocessed.
Through this in-depth research of the war and its impacts on the Algerian population, Hadjazi aims to deconstruct and highlight the ways that a legacy of colonial trauma can transcend generations.