collaborative project with highschool students

created with: László Bodnár, Nándor Bolf, Damján Büki, Zsombor Hencsei, Donát Jakus,
Levente Csaba Kiss, Marcell Kiss, László Lits, Levente Lits, Bálint Lukács, Domonkos Nagy,
Péter Sefcsik, Sámuel Szabó, Bendegúz Szegszárdy, András Velki
contributors: Dávid Bankó, Csongor Demeter, Bálint Gergely, Barnabás Samu, Jónás Szabó, Zsombor Tuboly

— Silence, Archabbey of Pannonhalma, 2019

I invited the students of a class from the Benedictine High School of Pannonhalma to address the presence of silence at the school as well as its role in education and in the students’ lives. Throughout the democratically organized creative process, we shaped the workflow together and made collective decisions. The path from the initial proposal to the exhibited artwork led through discussions, the collection of sources of inspiration and personal stories, and the collective selection of modes of representation. In the video, group discussions are followed by short theatrically staged scenes designed by the students.

"A teacher proposed that we could only leave after evening prayer if all 38 of us managed to stay silent for 1 minute... 38 boys living together... I mean we’re able to talk about as little as “the sky is blue”... So we exceeded the time limit a few times. So we lost the half hour when some would have studied, or gone to the toilet before bed..."

Silence... You disgusting frame, / Whom I cannot call by name. / You magnify my pain. / You dull my joy again. / Lord! Why set a rendezvous / At this nauseating place? / Why does joy feel like anguish / Whenever I enter your grace? / Why can’t I just tear apart / The body you’ve given me / To house the soul of this heart? / Why can’t I if that’s my wish?
Poem by Zsombor Hencsei

I wouldn’t use chemicals if you didn’t enjoy / Neither of us will say so but I know you feel it, oy / To win you over I lose value / I use it to incorporate you / You fall in love with yourself for I am you / Proven by all my deeds old and new / Everybody knows who does it and why / But no one says a word as they know it’s futile / They believe it’s an issue of attachment / But deep down they know it’s the lack of essence / That would cause them to ail / This is lame, but let’s keep that a secret, there’s no excuse / At night we talk about how I’m running out of snus / I’ve done it all for myself, winning you over / But we say nothing for I didn’t gain you, / We gained one another, our mutual pursuits / Though we listen to music and do sports for each other. / Everybody knows who does it and why / But no one says a word as they know it’s futile / They believe it’s an issue of attachment / But deep down they know it’s the lack of the other / That would cause them to ail
Lyrics by Damján Büki, Péter Sefcsik, András Velki