duet performance with Aziz Amri wearing costumes of velvet heels and straw hats with paper horns accompanied by techno workout track and blinking stage lights, 7 minutes 30 seconds.
performed at Gunung Kelud, Kediri, Indonesia, rendered to be site specific for Tobong Arts Festival curated by Iwan Kapit,2017.
photo documentation by Adi Nugroho.
Two minotaur-inspired figures appeared on stage, right after a techno music was played accompanied by blinking stage light. The performance transformed the traditional stage of Kelud village into a modern club house where the two figures started to brawl as if they were oxen. The crowd was jeering towards the colloseum, almost like a martial art fight that was both ritualistic and pop-infused at the same time.
The Heavier The Better was inspired by the local myth of Kelud which community still practices kejawen, an amalgamation between Islam and animism. The performance which was presented in a traditional dance festival was aimed to put forward the context of tradition. A hint of gender commentary was also imbued in the costume of both performers.
The men eventually fought with their horns, arms and 'hoofs' but as the music ended, both collapsed, resulting in a disappoinment of no victors. A folklore is a fable and likewise, The Heavier The Better was a rather linear approach in storytelling, specifically choreographed for the audience of Kelud.