My Site Specific Location.

The Tunnel that attaches the waterfront and highstreet together.

I have focussed on pursuing the idea of the transformation of the tunnel, the changing of something from a space of loss to a space of beauty. Liberating my negative emotions of the place and crafting them into feelings of happiness and comfort.

 So what would happen if I put something that doesn’t belong there? The moment somebody walks around the corner they are faced in this tiny compressed space that is so different from what they are used to. I am planning to cover the space, by wrapping or draping the space with soft, light materials to contrast with the hard, dark, brick exterior that holds the tunnel. This will act as a metaphor for my personal experience and feelings of the space. Beneath lies a very tough and painful numbness but I can distract that away with contentment and happy memories; just as I can hide the tunnel in a similar way.

In addition to this I am focusing my idea on the use of voice, I am planning to get the smallest speakers possible, to attach into the corners of the tunnel, and they are not to be seen. I am planning on using multiple voices, those who have the same personal resonance as I do. But what are they saying? Four multiple voices are to capture you at different times, and in this very short walk you’re going to have four voices coming at you from multiple directions. This could literally stop somebody in their tracks.

This element of my piece has been inspired by Micheal Pinchbecks’ ‘Sit with me for a moment and remember’ I’m using voice to liberate my privacy, people will be able to experience my loss and how I am transforming it into something positive. The audience will become game players and ‘You and I and they will go there together’ (Pearson, 26)

Although I have decided not to perform within my piece, I feel I have been greatly inspired by Marina Abramovic and her piece ‘The Artist is Present’. I have found the process of how she prepares for her most demanding performance yet inspirational when planning and preparing for my own piece. I feel I am pushing myself mentally, to limits I find uncomfortable by actively thinking about my loss for the purpose of my piece.

The Artist is Present – Marina Abramovic (2012)

Mike, P. (2010) Site-specific performance. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.