Stories from the Body #9
Buffalo Field Bangkok 2018
I begin with an image action: My mouth is full of flowers and have one visible between my lips – in this case it is a lotus flower a lady offered me as a gift, with its petals folded open. I veil my face with a silver skirt and allow the movement to unfold...
My performance collaborators are Takashi Takiguchi, Brandon Jaye Cassidy and AñA Wojak.
Initial concept sketch for SFTB#9
The sound of a knife being sharpened on stone sets the tone of the piece.
I have a hard time getting ready, unsure how much flower I can fill my mouth with – pulling my lips and flaps of my mouth wide to get between vestibules, cheeks and gums…
The flower offerings in my mouth prevent me from speaking up and speaking out.
When I finally pull string of flowers out I utter a pre-language speech and vocalise. This sets off the process of the strings of flowers being pulled out of the other performers’ mouth.
On the last vocal phrases, I stand in front of Taka and offer him my back. He climbs on. I keep vocalising as I carry him away towards the final path.
The performer left on centre stage, AñA, is still sharperning knives and remains the final image.
SFTB#9 forms part of an ongoing performance series that began in festivals across Indonesia in 2014. From the premise that all human living is performed, I choose to activate the process of uncovering fragmented stories, disrupted histories, and reclaiming and reimagining the ruptures through my body and its voice…
Below are more sketches of choreographic routes and possible body-postures:
