30th October
The experience of working with Shaun led me to further reflect on my motivation for my previous performance work.
I had first started looking at performance through looking at the work of Rebecca Horn. I became interested in exploring my space in relation to the world and how it was defined.
Horn created Finger Gloves (1972), extensions which she could wear on her hands which allowed her to pick things up from the floor without bending down which changed the distance in relation to how far her hands were from the ground.
I had been experimenting drawing with wire and had made a wire glove which fitted over my hand but enlarged the size of my hand quite considerably. I was interested in the feeling of a shift of power when I ‘wore’ the hand. In wearing the hand I felt more powerful as if the feeling of taking up more space was directly related to the feeling of more power.
In Bruce Nauman’s Wall Positions (1968) and Dance or Exercise around the Perimeter of a Square (1968), he added the dynamic of movement as he explored the relationship between his body and a confined space. Each new position explored the space around him but was restricted within the limits of the room. This gave me the idea of exploring my space but within boundaries and limits.
