On the 26th October 2013, the first outcome of the project “(Dis)Remembering”- a participatory experience and installation took place at Studio 1 of LPAC (Lincoln Performing Arts Centre) as part of the mini festival that was organised from the MA/MFA: Choreographing Live Art students under the tutoring of the lecturer Pavlos Kountouriotis.
At the next phase (after PAF experience), the result was the creation of a personal archive of memories, thoughts and information regarding my relationship with the figure of father. Issues of identity was related to this intimate and problematic relationship. For one month, I intensified the contact with my father through skype (as the only medium of communication in distance) . The discussions were documented by me. After each encounter several data in form of photo, video, sounds, letters, drawings etc was collected composing a personal archive that it would be exposed to the audience…in order to destroy it.
What the archives allows to preserve?
Why do we need to preserve our memories and experiences?
What happens to all this when it’s exposed to an audience that is not engaged emotionally with all that experience?
How they can be engaged and transform something so personal to something collective?
Many question came up during this process. However the first realization was of an installation/participatory performance. The visitors were entering in the archival space after having read the instruction paper:
WELCOME
to the archive of memories, experiences and thoughts about the troubled relationship with my father . Here you may find traces and information that shed light on the nature of that relationship.
YOU are here not just to skim through and read these data BUT most importantly to take an active role in making it….disappear.
By entering in this space you consent to select the data you want to eradicate, eliminate or change by using the tools provided. Take your time and feel free to put this archive in to oblivion.
In the space I was there as curator of myself. I was welcoming the visitors and after an short tour with further explanations of how they could experience the space, they were left alone to read, observe, destroy, watch, cut etc what was exposed.
I was there in order to keep locating more material in each place.
They were eliminating data, I was adding data.
A space in constant transformation.
By being in the position of the curator I was feeling much more disconnected emotionally from the content of these archive.
Additionally inside the space there was a small gab/corner with semi-closed curtain, a sort of “room” of Fenia. When I was entering in that personal space, where the visitors were allowed to look but not to disturb, I was taking off the role of curator and I was becoming again Fenia, the daughter, artist, collector of memories.
The space was open for 3 hours. People were coming and going. I was staying there and I was witnessing the way that the people were “transforming” my past.
This Archive, at the end, was not totally destroyed.
Now I have this new “material” and I am preparing for the next phase where an other performance will take place on December.
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Teaser Performance
Trailer performance 1 from Foteini K on Vimeo.#
Draft performance from Foteini K on Vimeo.