UNBORN – a musical journey through the in-between can be seen at various locations in Amsterdam this summer. UNBORN is a collaboration between Guillermo Armand Blinker, also known as OTION, and Ulrike Quade Company. The two creators previously worked together on The Fetus Heaven.

What is the idea behind this collaboration? How did UNBORN come about, and what does Ulrike Quade Company hope visitors take away after seeing the performance?

Ulrike Quade of Ulrike Quade Company provides answers.

An artistic follow-up on The Fetus Heaven

“UNBORN is the result of an invitation to OTION to revisit The Fetus Heaven and its underlying themes, and to develop a continuation based on his own artistic signature. We asked him to use as much of the material, the artistic team, and the knowledge of the Company as possible. Visitors who have seen The Fetus Heaven and attend UNBORN will hopefully be inspired to create their own ‘in-between spaces’, where they can question themselves and make room for personal transformation.”

On controversies, potential, and new perspectives

“During a conversation with Simon(e) van Saarloos, a discussion arose about the controversial abortion laws in the United States. The question was raised: are unborn fetuses always victims, or are they actually freed from the suffering and limitations of the physical world? In the so-called fetus heaven, they are still full of potential, undefined, and not subject to social and societal codes, norms, and values. What can we learn from their fluidity and ambivalence? What does that tell us about our world? These are the questions we explored in The Fetus Heaven.”

“The idea was to dive deeper into the core themes of The Fetus Heaven. During the creative process, new worlds and perspectives opened up. We wanted to further utilize the knowledge we gained during this process.”