Met with Ali on Tues 17th April. Was a useful session because I needed some guidance with moving forward. Emmie had suggested making something with latex gloves, crafting etc. Reminded me of the artist I was on the Graduate Scholarship with who casted her pregnancy bumps. Notes below:
- accumalation of meaning is often present in durational work, something growing etc < what will mine be? what is the physical manifestation of time that grows thoughout? how to show time? more than one way?
- quality of how the action happens < like in Adam & Gillian’s piece (I should email them with some questions – how is time decided? can they talk about how they prepare / rehearse? the logics of duration? the logistics of duration. How they go about making a durational piece. preparing (not rehearsing?) )
- a structure of PREP, CREATION, EMERTION/ EXPULTION? Prep = preparing outer environment, creation = preparing inner environment. expultion = spitting everything out? Need to get into a rehearsal room to try out tasks.
- something in the balloons?
- water in the gloves? < test out
- ask Immy: what are the cycles they see on the wards? what do they witness with mums?
- midwife = witness, the act of witnessing > presence
- making something with the hands = making invisible labour visible < all the hands involved in the care of a mum < research how many health care professionals will a typical mum in the UK see?
- continue with looking into: can you be your own midwife? > documentation about initial fascination
- Placenta being eaten, sustenance < what will be my placenta on the day? Having a witness, someone to care for the artist < being present for me as the midwife is present for the women
- Marina Abramovic < read articles from Ali. Preparing for it, preparing to do tasks for a very long time. Mindfullness, committing to the task < documenting, committing to being present < meditation? hypno-birthing. Having someone there changes the quality of the action. Ask Leentje about hypno-birthing.
- site specific performance < read book by Mike Pearson
- midwifes will come to your space (home visits) < the atrium as ‘our space’ as students
- making the act public, via putting it in a public space
- who does the Atrium belong to? I pay to be there < uni as a corporate building, as a business, an institution
- whose space is the woman giving birth in?
- petals > nesting > domesticity
- birthing playlist? throughout? dramaturgy of that? timed to the action? or a signal when I need to hear something < talking about caring for myself, midwifing myself in this experience. Using music as a resource rather than a theatrical device.
- cornering off an area of the atrium < floor plans?
- do I know anyone who gave birth in public? < research
- people associate birth with privacy > suvberting the tucking away of childbirth by publicising it < what happens when you put this action in a public space?
- read: assault in gynacological space vs. prostrate practice being very conservative < is there a way to bring this into the work?
- pelvic exams: being invaded by a doctor. women somehow becoming used to the idea of men invading our space & bodies as a site for examination
- bed rest > punishment, confinement
- 2 hours as a deadline? what happens if not? some kind of intervention? absurd intervention, pop the balloons? accompanying materials to talk about this? how do I display time? adds to the idea that the stakes are real, there isn’t ‘acting’. adds a layer of commitment to the action. enriches the quality of the action. how do I share this with the audience
- what is the name for the dent in my head from the pliers?
- happening within assessment / deadline week at uni. the pressure to deliver. to vom up some work. sense of intensity across the building. unity amongst the students, amongst staff, the ‘labour’ of working, institution, clinical space like a hopsital < think about a list of similarites between hospitals and universities?
The Parrot Pen 