MINDFOOD VOL 1
Performance Film, film 6.33 min \ live performance 15 min, 2020
Performance Film, film 6.33 min \ live performance 15 min, 2020
The film is the partial documentation of a live performance, in which I construct a speculative human engine of a mass produced anonymous food-body-mind code system chain. By the entrance, the audience is given a pre-packaged pizza, which will then be invited to consume if desired throughout the performance.
The incubator hosts a performer I had chosen specifically for this occasion. She has the volumes I used to have, we come from similar bodily experiences- which I believe builds specific powers and undercurrent energies. The audience encounters them already sitting in the plate-tub; the performance then begins with the sound of a microwave opening, which gets set and then started. Over 20 minutes “the fat lady” is repeatedly mixing water and flour, which is introduced into the engine-plate by a second performer who embodies an anonymous male factory worker.
This work has been named controversial for adopting the body of another performer, given that my current body, when covered, appears as quite conforming to contemporary beauty standards. However, this piece was conceived through a former body of mine that is folded within me, and I would perform it myself if that part of me were tangible and visible today. I know some practitioners take advantage of orchestrating work that has never belonged to them; this piece instead is the fruit of a conversation between the needs of my past self and the current ones of Laura Funk, the performer. Part of the discomfort that comes from the performance is a reflection of everyday violence towards fat bodies, which is also why I find it relevant to engage with this specific body and theme.