My first PERFORMANCE and EMBROIDERY practice - 2003

…When you Dream Wedding… there is an old saying in Trinidad and Tobago that goes…when you dream wedding, it means death. In 2003 I was invited by the Institute for Gender and Development Studies Department (IGDS) to lunchtime talks about my Art Practice.

The thought of doing the typical power point did not appeal to me. After having my first solo show at The National Museum - HIT! A Visual Documentation on Domestic Violence, the scourge was still very much impacting society. I felt very strongly that finally I had a purpose for doing my first ever Performance.

Based on an image seen on the front pages of our newspapers of a beautiful couple in better times on their wedding day - I asked the question, what went tragically wrong?

I decided that I would play out the wedding of that couple. The guests to the talks were met with friends of mine dressed neutrally in black with a basket of light grey wedding favor scrolls wrapped with silver ribbon stating a cordial invitation. I handmade an invitation book and at a table in the middle of the room I had a traditional wedding cake.

Dressed as a bride,I walking in tandem with the traditional Wedding March, entering the room.

Then, suddenly I paused and revealed a huge hooked cutlass that was hidden under my veil. I then cut the cake, much to the viewers surprise.

I then used the cutlass to cut slices one at a time. I had silver napkins and I balanced it on the edge of the cutlass with the cake slice. At that time very few people knew of red velvet cake and I found it’s interior perfect for my performance. The faces of my startled viewers showed it all.

I

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

art4Dst33t The SAVANNA

Image
PROJECT: art4Dst33t : 1’ to 2’ hand cut stencils - theme : Traditional Carnival Characters of Trinidad and Tobago funding : The Ministry of Culture of Trinidad and Tobago locations : Port-of-Spain and San Fernando duration of project : Three days ———————— I learned so much from doing art4Dst33t . First of all, having an idea and then considering how to make it happen is a free flowing moment. Many thoughts about HOW to do it come up. But also WHY DO IT? How to do it…who can help, what it costs… all are factored into this idea. In Trinidad and Tobago we have the luxury and challenge of people in authority and the public blankly looking at you and listening to your exciting idea totally poker faced. Nobody cares ! One really has to believe in oneself and one's intentions. Always in the back of your mind you know that you can be completely dismissed by others. So you have to go for your dreams. The opportunity that I see in our Carnival season is its very contradiction. Traditionall...
Read more

Where we begin: Stony Brook

Image
SPATIAL consciousness WHAT does SPACE * mean? * This Performance shows the labor of work. The viewer can see what physical effort looks like in a working day. Is it empty? What fills it? Sight….Sound…..is it Light?….is it Heavy? …how do you Define the spaces you enter? …. what do you look at or feel ? …How conscious are you about THE ROOM? Performing the STATE This is a larger statement. In Trinidad and Tobago ‘ the State ’ is the biggest vehicle of control. Our government is the major employer of its citizens. We observe what IS Performance within the State? Is it by rote? Is it conscious? Is it healthy? How do we as citizens support a LIVING Space? SOCIAL JUSTICE Aesthetics helps answer the question. - When we are all invested - and this must go beyond a salary, - it must go past herd thinking - when we think as a Group understanding that WE ALL MATTER, - we support the same Goals and Intentions - there is Fairness and Equity - then and only then can we feel SEEN HEARD RESPECTED. T...
Read more

The MerMade Shopp -

Image
The MerMade Shopp  After I completed my degree at PRATT I was deciding my next career move. The pull and tug between being in New York with its enticements and wanting to take my learning back to my homeland occupied my mind. A friend of mine, Mervyn De Goeas was also of like mind and was encouraging me to consider going back to Trinidad. He had procured funding to create his dream theatre and we had several conversations about his plans that factored into two to three years ahead. He had also secured permission for plays and had outlined who he would want on his team. He reasoned that I could do all the aspects of design from trademark to set design. So, convinced by this initiative I returned to Trinidad and Tobago. After even many more conversations on the viabilities, The MerMade Shop was created. The first play chosen was Rick Abbott’s PLAY ON, . a light hearted period comedy. WHo knew that this play would mirror what would happen elsewhere. We procured the then major space fo...
Read more