OURS No. 6
This performance is a representation of the act of giving ourselves to other people, whether that is emotionally or physically. Everyone we meet will be affected by our presence. Some get a larger part of us, others get a smaller portion. Over the course of the performance, an old axe will be used to split logs. The logs are painted with a colour matched to my own skin. They will be split, divided, and then each residual piece will be distributed around the audience. I begin the work with the ritual of removing my footwear. We remove our shoes to signify the entering of a space, a home, somewhere with significance to either ourselves, or to our loved ones. We remove our shoes out of respect, as a humbling gesture. This beginning is also meant to capture the audience’s attention, completing what could be seen as a dangerous act barefoot jars the viewer into a state of discomfort. The axe used has been painted to match the colour of my eyes. We place ourselves where we see fit, where we believe we will be of most use. Whether this is true isn’t proven, but it is a part of our belief, the belief that this is where we see ourselves serving the best. The end of the performance will be signified by the placement of my shoes back onto my person, the signifier of leaving a place or space.
The materiality of wood is one with immense depth. Trees are monolith plants that grow in packs that we call forests with miles of roots grounding them to the surface of the earth. Mankind cuts them down, strips them of their outer protective layers, and reshapes them into sizes and shapes that are easier for our use. The wood we use today for construction or anything of the like is the most vulnerable state of the resource. Using this analogy it is easy to associate the material of wood to ourselves. Adolescence, certain events, traumas, it all reshapes us. People change us, and our past experiences construct us into the people that we are today.
