Discrete | Diskret
'Discrete | Diskret' is three linked performances exploring
obligation and oppression—both external and internalized—and the ways we
all succumb to and reinforce a cultural system that prevents true
cooperation.
In Part 1, the artists are bound by a long band,
facing away from the other, holding the other’s weight, leaning sharply,
almost flying, but one sudden move throws off the balance, causing an
ungraceful slip. The artists are each trying desperately to inhale a
dangling feather through a narrow drinking straw. Their breathing
constricted, they struggle for the feather, fully dependent upon but
also impeded by the other. The artists in Part 2 slump into faceless
pillows, facing walls or glass windows, though never able to see the
other. They explore the artificiality of emotion as laughter mimics
crying, using up their breath. In Part 3, the artists face each other,
finally, but their vision is soon obstructed as each breath fills an
oversized balloon. The inflatables fill the space between them, then
strain for enough space, rubbing and bumping, nearly bursting, as the
twin forms echo the fatigued lungs.
If only we could notice the
other as more than a brace for our own distress. In ways both global and
personal our culture glorifies isolated individuation. In response, the
artists strive to honor our messy, mismatched, embodied humanity.
Contexts: 4th International Festival of Ephemeral Art | In Situ Foundation | Sokolowsko, Poland | July 2014
NOoSPHERE Arts | New York, NY, USA | June 2014
Performed each for 3 hours
