In POWDER TO THE PEOPLE, Helena Elshout delves into archive boxes of an old family business. She finds white powder, shiny apples, privileges and diseased kidneys. She looks in the mirror, into her great-grandmother’s eyes, and discovers the forgotten history of a magical medicine. POWDER TO THE PEOPLE is about the legacy of a fortune with a frayed edge. During the residency in Kortrijk, Helena will work with her team on text and image, acting and scenography.

Helena Elshout (BE)

Helena Elshout makes documentary yet personal performances that balance between wry humour and lighthearted seriousness. She is working on a four-part series about motherhood and inheritance. What do we inherit from our ancestors and what do we pass on to the next generations? In each performance, she delves into a different part of her heritage and thus a different piece of family history. Along the way, she explores how that works, being a mother. What mothers are we born of and what mothers can be born in us?