Reasons for Licking
10–5–2013
10–5–2013
The performance consists of repeatedly licking a small cafe window during regular business hours. The piece has an unlimited time frame and can be seen as an exercise to be performed when great anxiety arises and needs expression. The duration of the piece addresses the excitement, boredom and intimacy found in public spectacle. The act mimics a dog’s need to endlessly lick a wound. It is a meditation on shame, humor, sexuality and acceptance. By performing an absurd and endless act of public licking, my anxieties were unburdened to the crowd and also given personal ownership.
True Self Test or 24 Hour Friendship
2014-2015
2014-2015
Drawing from a time of extreme lonliness and virtual homelessness, I was floating, out of contact with long term friends and family, untethered. I set up rules which would dictate my interaction with each participant in a quest to find my “True Self”. Each participant was a stranger to me, often found in a foreign country, at a pub or online. Each participant was aware of the nature of the 24 hour relationship.
The performance asked a question about who I am with each person, a self portrait based on the limitations or extentions which are revealed with each encounter. The time limit reflects the nature of friendship, the meaning of meeting and saying goodbye. How do we hold a memory of a relationship after it is physically over? No more contact, physical or virtual. Each friendship was also a decision for the participants: Will they decide to follow the rules? What is different when a friendship has a decided end?
Each 24 Hour Friendship was a private experience between myself and the participant.
The performance asked a question about who I am with each person, a self portrait based on the limitations or extentions which are revealed with each encounter. The time limit reflects the nature of friendship, the meaning of meeting and saying goodbye. How do we hold a memory of a relationship after it is physically over? No more contact, physical or virtual. Each friendship was also a decision for the participants: Will they decide to follow the rules? What is different when a friendship has a decided end?
Each 24 Hour Friendship was a private experience between myself and the participant.
