Practice

These are some photos from my PhD practice that I ran last Saturday. It was a experiential piece that asked a person to take off their shoes, don a key around their neck and walk into the space with no other guidance than the clues placed around. I was interested in how I could cue and spark memories and recall in the audient and the emotions that were conjured through this performance form. The results were very interesting. I am currently in the process of transcribing participant feedback. Thank you to all who were involved. 

 

Would you share this with me?

I found this on someones tumblr that I follow:

 6 things that you miss
1. Having loving parents in my life
2. All my friends, who don’t live in Manchester
3. The sea
4. A cat in the house
5. Humanity and common sense in some people
6. 8 hours sleep per night

And I loved it. I am currently attempting to come up with 1000 ways to say that you miss someone. This is being concocted with the lovely lucas stibbard.

In the meantime?

6 things that I miss
1. Waking up to birds, sky, dirt, grass and the smell of the bush every morning.
2. Having enough time in my life to totally indulge in the people I love.
3. The ocean.
4. Having a garden to meander in.
5. Riding my horse. Feeling that complete sense of freedom as you gallop through the bush.
6. The Never Never river, the Promised Lands - The place where I grew up. 

What 6 things do you miss?

the woman in the supermarket

I had a beautiful exchange with the woman working at a supermarket check out today.

I put my wallet on the counter and she complimented it. I said thank you and then explained where it came from. She then told me she used to do leather work. I got excited as I also work with leather. I then watched years drop away from her face and her eyes sparkled. She told me that when she was 15 she made a wallet for her grandmother. On it she stitched icons that represented her grandmother and her life. She then lashed the sides of the wallet. As she told me of this she illustrated the whole making process with her hands, smiling. Then she gave it to her grandmother. Her grandmother was cautious of banks and her pension payout so she took out an amount every week and placed it in this wallet and placed it in her drawer. When her Grandmother passed away she got the wallet back in absolute pristine condition. A much prized possession. She left enough money in the bank account for her own funeral.

I have a theory that I make people want to tell me things. I don't know what it is but a lot of the time within a couple minutes i'll know some strange facts about a stranger, have a memory of theirs or have discussed their views on life and whether they are happy where they are. This is one of the things I do enjoy about myself - I seem to encourage confidence.

I would not trade this for anything. 

i think it is

a) form - open, sensorial, a similar openness to music in that there are no 'fixed associations' (Langer, Form and Feeling)

--> this form opens up associations and an emotive engagement

--> which gives the audience a certain experience and this experience differs according to memories and emotions activated in the audient.

So according to this theory, changing the form changes the engagement. But i guess that is always the case.

Hmmm.

essentially I am interested in the 'best' form to illicit memories and feelings aligned with similar notions of feeling and music and langer purports.

Ahhhh research. How mad your drive me with your quicksilver nature and your shape shifting appearance.

And all the sitting still is getting to me.