Forest Struggles

Forest Struggles by Tahereh Nourani is a composition for sign poetry and sound art created in collaboration with Anja Burghardt. Drawing on texts by Fowota Mortoo and Sophie Chao published in the 47th issue of The Funambulist, the piece centers on Indigenous struggles to protect forests from colonialism, extractivism, genocide, and ecocide—struggles that span centuries and continents, united by a refusal to accept the erasure of land, language, and lifeworlds.

Sign poetry—a language without sound—introduces a radical shift in spatial perception and adds a new dimension to multilinguality, reversing conventional language hierarchies and transforming accessibility. This work positions sign poetry not as a supplement to spoken language but as the primary mode of expression—a decolonial gesture that challenges linguistic hierarchies embedded in archival practice.

Forest Struggles is part of the VBKÖ members’ residency program at the VBKÖ archive. The performance serves as the live component of “Archive of Futures,” an installation by Tahereh Nourani that will be presented in the group exhibition at VBKÖ, opening March 14, 2026.

Tahereh Nourani: concept, composition
Anja Burghardt: visual sign performance
Fowota Mortoo: Text “The Story” published in The Funambulist Issue 47
Sophie Chao: Text “Multispecies struggles for justice on the Papuan plantation frontier” published in The Funambulist Issue 47

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Tahereh Nourani is a composer and sound artist in the field of experimental sound art. She explores the potential of Deep Listening through slowness and minimalism. Nourani specializes in extended and unconventional playing techniques on her instruments, the bass and the flute, and integrates objects, field recordings, and languages into her work. Nourani is a scholarship recipient of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sports, she is a member of the Vienna Improvisers Orchestra as well as the artist collective QMA, SHAPE+ Artist and winner of the PhonoECHOES Award for experimental sound art. She has performed at venues and festivals such as Belvedere 21 (AT), Moers Festival (DE), UH Fest (HU), and Üle Heli Festival (EE) and has composed music for installations, film, theater, contemporary dance, and performance. She studied European classical flute at the Tehran University of Arts and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW) and was Artist in Residence at AQB (HU), Casa di Rosa (CH), and Hotel Pupik (AT).

Anja Burghardt is an Austrian Deaf performance artist who performs under the stage name Anja – Dancing Hands. Since 2014, she has been active in artistic projects, competitions, and interdisciplinary productions. She has received multiple awards, including first prizes at Deaf Slam formats. In her work, she combines Austrian Sign Language with physical expression, rhythm, and visual staging. Through expressive interpretations, she merges poetry, music, and sign language into unique artistic experiences. Her performances make visual language tangible and allow sound to become visible in space. As part of the Deaf community, she brings her own experiences visibly to the stage. Through her art, Anja – Dancing Hands creates a bridge between the hearing and Deaf worlds, actively advocates for accessibility and the recognition of sign language in the arts and culture sector, and opens new perspectives on inclusion, language, and emotion.