Sound Performance; Jose, Group 2

In the previous week, Jose assigned our group to organize a performance in the upcoming week. Cultivating this project as a group, we decided to look to the demolition of the shopping centre for inspiration. In my past posts, I have mentioned work in deconstruction so this was an easy way to begin to explore that topic more. My role in the group was to write our manifesto and provide a heartbeat to monitor during the performance. In the manifesto, I looked into the process of demolishing a building, which is a five-step method of safety measure, preparation, installation, destruction, and recycling. At the same time, I had been listening to different abstract-guided-meditations which I took lots of inspiration from towards the writing. With this form of writing and topic, I was able to string together a manifesto that targeted using destruction as a stepping point for progression through the process of demolition and deconstruction. (seen below)

The performance itself consisted of video (extracted from the shopping centre itself, and video via Anne Lockewood), modular performance (Sam, Toby), cassette splicing (Hywl), sonic layers of drones and textures (Inaki, Harry, Raul), contact mics used to read the manifesto and add layers (Jingya, Raul, me), and was all live-mixed by Jose. The performance itself lasted about an hour and was all improvised and documented via audio.

Erect a structure of your belief
Suspend into your thoughts
Brick by brick
Thought by thought
Examine your surroundings
Feel the architecture
Run your hands along the walls that hold you in
Linger in that space
What did it take to get here?
How much will it take to bring it down?
What can I release?
Resist the details
Light the match
Absorb the orange glow
the inferno from within
Demolish the unwanted
Turn destruction into a manageable method
Burn your own bridges
Look back into the void that once looked into you
Acknowledge the rest
Let the demolition pave your way
Use both hands to hold onto what you know
Ash
to fertile soil
fertile soil
To a bountiful harvest
Believe that anything built
Can be demolished
And turned anew