FRANCIS BACON PROJECT

FRANCIS BACON PROJECT

Performance / Ensemble / 50 min

Short Introduction

Francis Bacon Project is an ensemble performance inspired by the painter Francis Bacon and his distorted figurative universe.
The work explores the human body as a site of tension, exposure and transformation, translating Bacon’s pictorial violence into a live performative experience.

The performance does not attempt to illustrate Bacon’s paintings, but rather to inhabit the emotional and existential conditions they evoke: isolation, confinement, desire, and the collapse of the figure under invisible forces.

Concept & Artistic Statement

At the core of Francis Bacon Project lies an investigation of the body under pressure.
The performers’ bodies become mutable images — stretched, compressed, fragmented — oscillating between control and loss of form.

Through physical action, spatial composition and repetitive gestures, the stage functions as a living canvas. Movement, stillness and distortion operate as painterly tools, allowing the body to shift from representation to sensation.

The work engages with Bacon’s obsession with the scream, the cage, and the exposed figure, not as references, but as conditions: the body trapped in its own visibility.

What the Audience Experiences

The audience is invited into an intense and immersive environment where time feels suspended.
The proximity to the performers creates a sense of unease and intimacy, as bodies appear simultaneously vulnerable and threatening.

Rather than following a narrative, the spectator experiences a sequence of physical states and emotional ruptures. The performance unfolds as a visceral encounter with the human figure at the edge of dissolution.

Format

Type: Performance

Cast: Ensemble

Duration: 50 minutes

Stage: Black box / adaptable to gallery & theatrical spaces

Language: Non-verbal

Status

✔ Already performed / Available for presentation
✔ Suitable for festivals, contemporary art spaces and interdisciplinary platforms

Credits
Concept & Artistic Direction: Konstantinos Pavlidis
Performers: Dimitris Papadopoulos, Athanasia Tsatsou, Konstantinos Pavlidis.