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A private durational and participatory performance

Performed at “Performance Heart” fest at Grace Exhibition Space, Brooklyn, New York 

April 1st to April 2nd, 2013

Duration 25 hours 16 minutes recording actions on the scroll plus 40 minutes of reading of scroll and sharing stickers 

Assistance Maira Velez 

Photos by Chris Moffett 

Video by Grace Exhibition Space

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A playful piece on the activities I did in the span of 25 hours and 16 minutes. The performance started at 9pm and ended at 10:16pm the following day. Without interrupting my regular life I wrote in a scroll every action I did, making every action and every person whom I engaged with a performative element. The piece ended at Grace Exhibition Space where I gave an interactive reading of my actions, which consisted in inviting the audience to take colored dot stickers or post-its from my body if they also had done the same action during the last 25 hours and 16 minutes.

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• The performative of our daily lives 

• An active act of noticing of our actions 

• The discernment between actions, thoughts and feelings 

• A merging of private actions into the public 

• A circular relation between Action - Text- Word - Recognition - Action...

 

Scene 1 - Actions in time and space

 

Polina is at her apartment and scratches her face. 

 

Scene 2 - Writing each action on a scroll [an interruption of regular life]

 

She reaches over to a scroll next to her and writes: I scratched my face. 

Polina is at a storage facility. 

She writes:                                                                    I felt lost in the storage and… hopeless. 

                                                                                      I cleaned my ear with my pinky 

                                                                                      I said "I don't think I'm running for president"

                                                                                      Walked to the subway

                                                                                      Had my mind completely blank 

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Polina continues to write on this scroll every action [A personal internal performance of discerning actions from thoughts and feelings] that she performs in her regular day.

 

Scene 3 - Speaking of actions 24 aka 25:16 culminated as a playful performance on the activities I (and many other people) did in the span of 25 hours and 16 minutes. 

 

Twenty five and sixteen minutes later, Polina is in a gallery, performing. She is naked, covered in stickers.

 

Polina:  At 10: 16 New York time I concluded my first durational performance. From April 1st 2013, 9:00 PM to April 2nd  at 10:16. I went about my regular life and wrote down all my actions. 

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She unrolls the scroll.

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Polina: As a closing of this piece of 24 hours…25 hours and 16 minutes, I will give you an account of my actions. 

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Polina: Come closer

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The audience looks around and most decide to come close to Polina

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Polina: If any of the following apply to you, take a sticker from my body.

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She reads from the scroll: I scratched my face.

 

Scene 4 - words become new actions

 

Most audience members steps forward to grab a sticker. 

 

Polina: I smelled my clothes to see if they were clean enough. 

 

Audience laughs and excitedly grabbed a sticker

 

Polina: Took the Q train 

 

Several audience members: Oh yeaah...!

 

Polina: I explained the performance of Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez-Peña to my roommates.

 

Audience member (sarcastically): Of course! 

 

Final scene - the body becomes a vehicle for transaction/exchange. 

 

Polina: I was covered in stickers. I am standing at Grace Space. 

 

Everyone reaches towards Polina’s body and takes a sticker. Many place the sticker on their own body. 

 

Polina: Thank you. 

 

End

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Link to performance