Hieloco

HIELOCO conceived this music selection as the ramblings of an imagined childhood. Rather than presenting childhood as an innocent chapter of life dedicated to growth and idleness, the work turns to its often-overlooked burdens: the tragedy of being shaped according to society’s expectations and the fragility of depending entirely on others, who themselves struggle under the weight of their own lives. Childhood emerges as a museum of arranged fragments that manifest themselves sonically, feeding on forms of grief and angst that are felt rather than understood.
The work also draws inspiration from Soviet-era animation, whose soundtracks accompanied stories that openly confronted loneliness, death, and social hardship, recognising children as capable of engaging with emotional complexity.
HIELOCO performs dressed as a clown, a figure suspended between childhood and adulthood whose sadness mirrors the grief of a child: both depend on someone else to sustain the illusion. Rather than offering a nostalgic image of childhood, the performance reveals how its fears and contradictions continue to resonate long into adult life.