installation and performance
Pioneer Works, Red Hook, New York, 2012
Commonplaces (2012)
installation and performance, 30 min
dimensions variable
installation views, Pioneer Works, Red Hook, New York, 2012
Commonplaces is a participatory project, which took place at Pioneer Works, Centre for Art & Innovation in Red Hook, Brooklyn, just after Hurricane Sandy in November 2012. Six international performers enacted simple actions in a flood-stricken building, which in the aftermath had no heat or light. I used the architecture as a stage and delimitated intermediate spaces of “nature” with video projections, painted fabric, plastic and black backdrop cloth. Random elements such as oranges, a flashlight, a jar of gherkins, burning candles enlivened the installation. The performers, from Switzerland, Japan, Germany, Holland, France and Italy, created a hospitable and immersive commonplace for the public. The traumatic context and the ambivalence of foreign hosts welcoming American citizens created an inviting 30 minute time warp in everyday life, which blurred the distinction between performer and spectator.
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Performers : Lucia Kempkes, Dominique Blumer, Mari Matsutoya, Marine Pascal, Ilaria Garbero, Alexandra Duvekot
video, sound, plastic, painted fabric, large c-print, gherkin, light box, table, chairs, oranges, black drop, flash light
