https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KamuKyjF4SA&feature=youtu.be

“The remains of the past are all around us” (Pearson, 98) The River Humber is millions of years old, Dinosaur fossils are often found, the Romans and Julius Caesar have crossed this river and for hundreds of years it had been used to import and export food and materials all over the world. It was 2°C, raining and very windy, except for the occasional dog walker I was all alone and I allowed my brain to wander. “There is no architecture without event, without program, without violence” (Tschumi) In the shadow of the monolithic Humber Bridge I felt very small and insignificant, however as my mind ticked over I realised that I was not insignificant, but by standing there I was in fact adding another layer to the millions of stories that already inhabited the banks of the river, and that was actually rather comforting.

Our performance will include an audio element, we are currently experimenting with what we want exactly in our audio so we gave ourselves the task of each one of us going out to record something. Our performance will take place on the Brayford Waterfront and we needed to add a personal touch to our piece, the theme of water is strong and since I live close to the River Humber I have recorded audio of the waves. I have been to this place countless times  and I never just stopped and listened. It was quite remarkable to just listen to what was happening in that moment, the waves, the birds, the wind. It’s important to know the history of a place as it can make you appreciate just how many things have happened where you are standing, but it is also important to be aware of yourself and be able to be completely immersed in the present.

Tschumi, B (1994) The Manhatten Transcripts (London: Academy Editions).

Pearson, Mike. (2010). Site Specific Performance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

The task we chose to complete was to create a forest within the city. Originally we thought about the idea of using small toy trees and putting them around the city, it would have been a way to utilize the use of plastic toys to represent nature and trees, as most nature has become artificial, therefore emphasising the synthetic lifestyle of modern day life.

On the High Street

However, in light of the digital aspect of our site specific we opted to download an image on to a mobile phone and take a picture of that on another mobile phone in various places throughout the city.

On a bin down the High Street, the grey metal contrasting with the soft green colour of the forest.

On a larger scale, say a projection on to a building this could be quite significant in that it could really show how the new digital age makes seeing nature on a screen easier than seeing it with your own eyes.

Under a bush, a piece of nature strategically planted for aesthetic purpose, so not really natural at all.

The concept of pervasive games is a strange one to me, it raises a lot of questions, the main one being “is it still a performance when the audience are unaware they are watching a performance?” In the case of The End Is Nigh a character was shot in the middle of a street where terror threats are high, the audience were rightly terrified by these actions and ethical and moral questions are raised. “Players need to be aware of both the game world and ordinary life.” (Tapper, 150) There need to be boundaries set in place so that the players do not endanger themselves by playing games where their actions could lead to serious consequences.

The idea of in-between-ness is interesting, it is a moment of confusion where the non-players realise that something is amiss with their surroundings but are not sure what it is. I personally am highly against the idea of messing with people’s emotions and making them feel uncomfortable when there is no need to, however confusion with no threat of harm is something that can be played with. “There is a social thrill, when one is posited in-between contracts. However, from the perspective of non-players, such sudden appearances might seem like terrorism or at least a social threat.” (Tapper, 151) again, boundaries need to be put in place as to not cause harm.

Pervasive games are quite fascinating but similarly are a type of performance act that I am very wary of…

“The play as event belongs to the space, and makes the space perform as much as it makes the actors perform” (Wiles,2003,p.1) – from Mark Pearson’s Site Specific Performance.

What I gathered from the first session was that sire specific is any type of performance done anywhere other than designated theatres. The performances can be strange and sometimes confusing but there is always a deeper meaning behind them.