Abstract

This article discusses the first phase of Babel Re-Play, a collaborative project by academics and artists in South Africa and Switzerland applying principles of art as research and play theory. The interest of the participants, inspired by the larger research initiative Construction Site/Chantier, is in deepening our understandings of the ways modernity is playing out in contemporary cities. The article shows how re-playing the well-known myth of Babel recorded in Genesis in the Old Testament, which has been explored and re-shaped by countless artists, philosophers, and scholars over the ages, affords new readings and new knowledge of the city. A South African team and a Swiss team each produced a short film, serving to sample aspects of the contemporary city led by interpretations of myths associated with Babel.