Choreographic Objects (I-IV)
This work started life as a physical barrier, a single modular volume referencing street architecture that would, through blocking, create movement in the audience. The roughly finished surface was meant to evoke the physical movement of its production, so while audience and artist move, the work had an autonomous stillness.
However, in the install, I noticed they began to take on a further, more complex, life of their own. Quadrapedal bodies, rearing and wobbling on improbably thin legs (and perhaps, arms) are arranged in two pairs, like two 'scenes'. One pair, weak at the knees, stand in nuzzlingly close proximity, while small touches like a false finger nail and fabric plaster evoke courtship or care. Opposite, one stands triumphally over a smaller companion, flipped onto it's back, resembling a beetle, or a submissive or playing mammal. While its unclear whether they are fighting or playing, the fourth is clearly a runt, displaying his unpainted belly and slap-dash construction.
There was intention in the production of the material, but still, my process is open to chance. I also, like tai chi principle, need to go big to go small, and consider the relationship to the floor. While retaining references to street life, architecture and construction, these objects also evoke distinct movements, characters, and relationship to the floor, which elicit sympathy and recognition of the body from the viewer.