This performance was durational, requiring me to lie semi-nude for about 3 hours in a small room. It was part of a larger performance evening where the audience could wander around various performance sites within a large gymnasium building. It was part of the Unitec dance degree (Auckland, New Zealand), interdisciplinary performance mentored by performer and artist Charles Koroneho.
A looping video on a tv screen greeted the punters; the screen showed my own hands contorting my facial features in extreme close up shots of hyper-reality and grotesueness.
The audience could then enter the dimly-lit room through a black curtained entrance, where they were confonted by my body bordered by implements for mark-making such as stamps, ink, henna, pens.
A looping video on a tv screen greeted the punters; the screen showed my own hands contorting my facial features in extreme close up shots of hyper-reality and grotesueness.
The audience could then enter the dimly-lit room through a black curtained entrance, where they were confonted by my body bordered by implements for mark-making such as stamps, ink, henna, pens.
My intention was to challenge audience comfort through the use of proximity and nudity; I also wanted them to have choice and perhaps allow space for reflection on their own feelings behind their choices made.
Additionally I attempted to challenge my self as a performer by maintaining stillness for a long period of time (how can this be negotiated in a performance setting?), and by placing myself in a 'vulnerable' situation. (I must state that selected friends and colleagues kept an eye on the situation over the length of the evening).
At the time I was questioning the meaning within dance/movement in a performance setting and felt that I needed to be still in order to understand this question more.
My artist model for this study was Marina Abramovic, particularly her work "rhythm 0" (1974). I was highly inspired by her bravery, determination, gutsiness, and the way her work reflected the nature -both violent and supportive- of a usually passive art audience.
These images were taken by Jason Allen
