Elendigheten

“Elendigheten”, TID Galleri

TID Gallery in Mandal had a group exhibition called “The misery”. I applied with a video/audio artwork, but they asked if I could make it into a performance instead. I hadn’t done any art performances before, but I wanted to challenge myself, so I accepted.

This is the piece I applied with:

For the props, I created balls of red rice connected with red ropes to my body.
I bought 4 kg of rice and coloured it red with red food dye (so that it would still be edible after the fact). It is a metaphor for the insides of a body. The balls represent the weight we carry during times of depression, the demons we have inside rendering us never alone.

During the performance, I start off with a black cover, representing anonymity as reciding in the dark, carrying invisible strain that eventually becomes unbearable. I rip off my cloak and start to violently cut the rice from the bags, making me lighter and lighter as I go.

Microphone and speaker testing. I had some issues with feedback as I use alot of reverb in my music and I was close to the speaker. Because of it I unfortunately had to turn down the volume a little too much. This is something I could make better if I ever do something similar again.

From the opening, filmed by Elin M. Grønvik


Pictures taken by Lisbeth Finsådal: