This performance-installation will explore the intersections of live drawing, improvised gesture, and personal archaeology. The piece will continually transform over the course of 3 days, as a cycle of actions are performed at different “stations” in the gallery. Each day I will move between these stations – an area where I draw, a heap of charcoal that I crush with my feet, a table with source material (found photos, newspaper clippings, root vegetables, miniature objects) that I sometimes bury/unearth in the charcoal, a bed for resting... There will be a sense of ritual, in that the piece will be ongoing and actions will be repeated. Central to this work is the ephemeral act of drawing on one single sheet of paper, continually erasing and layering. I approach this work with a question: Is it possible to create a performance that is simultaneously intimate and theatrical; to compose a slowly-unfolding-space in which the viewer may empathize, or even become part of the tableau? The public will be invited to move through the environment to experience it as it evolves. Following the performances, the installation will remain on view until February 6.
Performances:
Friday, January 15th during opening (7 - 10 PM)
Saturday, January 16th during gallery hours (12 - 4 PM)
Vida Simon’s work has been presented internationally, in a wide range of contexts – galleries, hotel rooms, storefronts, theatres, rooftops, and books. Her work incorporates various media, combined to form site-responsive installations and performances. Linking all aspects of her practice is a passion for drawing, a form that most directly expresses her interests in visual storytelling, materiality, and embodiment. Her performances often foreground the ephemeral gesture of live drawing. In 2010 her work will be presented at Interazzioni Performance Festival (Sardinia, Italy), At Home Gallery (Samorin, Slovakia), Galerie Articule (Montreal), and the 9th International Performance Art Festival (Turbine Giswil, Switzerland). As an extension of her practice, Vida often collaborates with others and teaches drawing. She lives in Montreal.
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