OPENING UP THE EMPTY SPACE..
Last night was the Gala opening…
I think we all experienced moments of intense vulnerability –an awareness of people hovering on the edge of the space, interested and intrigued but unsure of their place in it and what it is for… Some of the questions I could sense and hear were – What is it? Is it free? What do we have to do, can we just watch? What will happen if I step into the blue space and commit to being inside it? And will I be at ease? Do I have anything worth contributing?
Once people entered and sat down we tried to strike a balance of allowing people their own rhythm but providing information and assistance where and when it felt necessary. A good testing of the water. Since it was bare apart from the roof and one poem I had written in, it was a challenging start as no-one wants to be first at the party….but somehow it began to colour itself it slowly…and there was a constant flow of people around and to the space. The handouts and Sufi poetry books seem to be a useful point of connection and transition into the ‘text’ of the piece and its meaning.
The location of the work inside the pavilion works really well. Tt is at the centre /back, in the spine of the pavilion, its backbone – several people described it as an oasis of calm, a counterpoint to busy, intense flow around the stands surrounding it. Also, the contrast of a piece that is focused on process rather than product, though I am very aware we are creating an artefact that will need to find a home at some point – hopefully a public one.
Today, from lunchtime onwards, it started to take off, with a strong buzz of interest and the public seemed at ease with using the space to reflect, write and weave into it. The most commonly asked questions I got were – What inspired this work and what will happen to it afterwards? So, in response, I had further thoughts on how to express this:
It is self-contained piece of craft/artwork, which is being collectively transformed on a moment-by-moment basis by the public and us.
It is a weave but also a poem, homage to the beauty and personal value of objects and the role and meaning they bring to our everyday lives
It’s becoming clear through this that you can channel a lot of emotion and lateral thought through coveted objects -ones you choose to be in your lives, for specific reasons. You can also release a lot of emotional energy through the act of weaving, so a woven object can fulfil an individual’s desire to both connect with and articulate emotional memories generated by objects, and unite them within a common framework.
It is a bridge between craft, art and the (often unrealised) desire of the audience to make their mark in subtle but public way.
