ELSEWHERE
A shell of cultural history and the context of modern concerns.
An exploration into the visual darkness, the 'dark matter' in life -the worth-caring things we somehow neglect, and reconnection with defamiliarized space and people.
The overall shape of the performance was inspired by Japanese art in medieval time, itinerant musical storytelling initiated by the blind, who were called tōdō for male and goze for female. Different communities were formed in multiple districts in Japan due to the travelling nature of the art&way of living, and this was a way of earning for these visually impaired people. The other major influence of this practice was walking performance, especially the ones involving night walking in the natural world by NVA in Scotland.
This work brought a spice of excitement to enter an uncertain world, a sense of community when the audience was deprived of sight and felt the need to rely on each other, a touch of different specific issues in life.
More details of different stages within the practice will be elaborated...
Belonging
After notifying instructions and rules, the audience was asked to put on bandages to cover their eyes and was then led individually into the lift to the first location - bar area, where the turbid relationship of self-identity and place was brought up.
Awareness
The audience started to walk in blindfolds together, passing on notices to people behind, until reaching the second location - dress room, where an intimate talk about body importance, feet, in particular, was shared.
Relation
Through another collaborative walk, including upstairs this time which made it harder, the audience arrived at the third location - the backstage of the theatre. A personal-liking song was played along with the context of connection with people, friends, acquaintances - depending on how one would like to name it.
Sharing
Share of time, share of space, share of air,
Share of the moment, those moments.
The final scene happened in the main theatre space. The audience was guided and scattered in the space when the final speech started. The whole experience ended with a pop song containing lyrical links to the work; via bodily participation and touch, it is hoped that the audience felt the togetherness in this last phrase of performance.