Grounded III
Baltimore Artscape through Labbodies + BOPA
“Pay Per View Performance 1.0” (2018)
Day I
For Maryland's annual Artscape festival, curated by Labbodies for the Performance Art Pay Per View Volume I (PAPPVI). I performd for two days in two-hour installments. I often experiment with the endurance of inflating objects for my performances as well as being engulfed by or buried within natural elements, and I combined both of those motifs for this series.
I was able to explore presenting contrasting elements of easily recognizable objects like inflatable monkey pool toys with a video collage of disturbing current and historical events surrounding Black trauma. This included reenactment film footage of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, in combination with hate speeches held by Donald Trump and other white supremacist figures. After the inflation of over a dozen monkeys and a kiddie pool, I carried buckets of water from a nearby bathroom to fill the pool and then submerge myself for the second hour, breathing through a PVC tube. The projection continued on a loop creating a somewhat mournful pool party.
I was able to explore presenting contrasting elements of easily recognizable objects like inflatable monkey pool toys with a video collage of disturbing current and historical events surrounding Black trauma. This included reenactment film footage of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, in combination with hate speeches held by Donald Trump and other white supremacist figures. After the inflation of over a dozen monkeys and a kiddie pool, I carried buckets of water from a nearby bathroom to fill the pool and then submerge myself for the second hour, breathing through a PVC tube. The projection continued on a loop creating a somewhat mournful pool party.
Day 2
On the second day of this series I was burried beneath over 200lbs of sand and soil for 2 hours, using a pvc tube to breathe. The same video collage from the first day loops above my mound.
Through series of endurance, both mental and physical, I have found ways to experiment with the isolation and collective consciousness within an audience. My performances surround the themes of vulnerability and exposure, using my body as a historical vessel that inherently changes objects’ context based on proximity and/or interaction. One big part of the work is dedicated to what the audience will put forward, and whether they'll feel like deconstructing the elements of my identity, or decide to add onto what's already there. In the continuation of the Grounded Series, I begin to incorporate video collage, using news clips of Black murder, film, and pop culture events that encompass Black struggle and resistance. Creating an emotional, reflective, and enlightening atmosphere in a public space with people who may not always consider or realize the severity of societal impacts on marginalized citizens.