A response to London // 2016
A response to London consisted of observing people dotted around train stations, buildings and in the streets of London, the length of which was determined by the artists.
While observing, we could respond to what we saw in anyway, by means of copying, standing still, following and adding too.
While performing, a question was raised: 'Do you have to be stood still, in the traffic of people that pass by to have any meaning in society?', the answer to the question is still on going and constantly shifting as we explore our practice and research further.
Below are a series of responses from the walk and the question that was raised:
James
(London, 2016)
A response to the city.
London, the epicenter of our United Kingdom! For some people, this place doesn’t mean a lot, but to others they call it home. I arrived at Kings Cross Station. So many people around me, like blood to a heart, filling this great city until it could beat no more. We collected on the platform, waiting for the stragglers to get off the train; It’s a big city, too slow and you’re eaten alive. I wanted to make sure everyone was okay. Everyone was accounted for so we went to the ticket barriers, and onto our hotel – the generator hostel, a diverse hub for people passing through this great city. We dropped our bags off and ran to the tube. I remember the wind of the walkways down to the snake that passes under the belly of the beast, touching my face like the gentle touch of an angel. That’s when it hit me; we are part of something much greater than we think we are. We are part of unity, a race living alongside each other, moving forward whilst striving for the same goal, to live in harmony and peace.
We perform everyday tasks that are deeply rooted in our identity without knowing, we rush and we don’t take time to appreciate the simple things in life.
Still pictures from our performance //
Performance task: add too the pre existing landscape
Imogen
In the hustle and bustle of a cosmopolitan city like London, what does it mean to be still, to stand motionless and just watch the world go by? Every day, thousands of people go around the city walking, driving or riding the tube. But how many take a split second to actually see and not just look.
On a relatively quiet Tuesday afternoon we walked down South bank and did just that. We stopped and we stood. Exploring the realities of becoming something by doing nothing.
As performer this is a particularly interesting idea. I just stood, I was not performing something miraculous or out of the ordinary, yet it became something extraordinary. The people around us become the performance. The way they moved their bodies, turned their heads, rolled their eyes becomes the choreography for that piece.
Similarly, the movements people make when being part of the commotion of the city creates a dance all of its own. Dodging people in front of you, swinging when your tube train stops or starts, long strides or a smaller shuffle. Reflecting on, and performing, these motions back is funny because they occur naturally when in the moment yet when forced they may look extremely odd and out of place.
Still pictures from our performance //
Perfromance task: Wait
Alex
Observed Movement
The way people move in a busy city, the movements and gestures they unknowingly perform. The swarm, the movements of the masses. How do we draw attention to these movements, capture them, replay them.
We are mirroring the gestures unknown to them. We are performing their everyday gestures, we are finding the performative in the everyday.
Repetition
The everyday is only repetitive for the stationary, once you stand still you see the patterns of the environment around you, the things that repeat, but are normally missed by people passing through.
- The swiping of an Oyster card
- The rocking backwards and forwards
- The waiting of people
What is the difference between waiting and standing?
When standing with purpose you become seen, visible to others around you. By standing still you make a statement. The choice to stand still is not one that many undertake. To stand still is to isolate yourself. To stand still is to segregate yourself from the moving masses, you are no longer one of them and so you are a curiosity and a wonder to them. By standing still you are an observer, an observer of people’s reactions to you standing still.
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By being stationary you observe a man passing backwards and forwards on the station, he looks down and moves with a wide gate.
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By being stationary you observe a grouping of pairs outside Elephant and Castle underground station.
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By being stationary you experience the South bank of London, as people passed by.
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All you have to do is stand still to become something of interest, something more than the everyday, to draw attention to yourself, as if you are in the spotlight.
Looking for shapes in our environment
We looked for threes in our environment, we looked for shapes that defined our environment, that defined the parameters of our work area, we responded to the dimensions of our environment.
A circle, a spotlight, a defined shape, a defined spot marked out as yours. This is my, my space to stand still, I have chosen to stand still in this, my space.
How to wait
Performance instructions by James Harris
Wait for a bus
a Train.
Wait for a coffee in your local coffee house.
Find a friend and wait in a queue for some ice-cream.
Wait for a plant to grow,
or even a animal.
Wait by someone,
wait on someone.
Wait around.