Performance:
I sit on the chair in front of the TV for 22 days. The first channel of Russian television broadcasts TV live, and at the end of each day, I will write down the main events as I remember them.
The daily summaries are placed on the wall for viewing, alternately from one to twenty-two with a note of the day number.
Performance happens in the gallery space during open hours.
I’m allowed only to drink water during the performance time.
Synopsis:
I stage the reality in which I will live for 22 days. I am in danger of losing myself and falling under the influence of this information flow, but I take on this responsibility out of love for my parents and a desire to be able to speak to them again.
I do not invite viewers for dialogue, I am in dialogue with the TV. I memorize what the TV is broadcasting and try to summarize the day as accurately as possible. But will my beliefs affect what I remember and how I record it?
22 days characterizes 22 years of a non-replaceable political regime and ideology in Russia. I remove all unnecessary elements, furnishings, food, etc. from my performance to focus on the main thing - the information flow. This performance is my search for answers to why February 24, 2022, happened and what motivated people in Russia to support Putin’s war.
The setting of this work refers to Marina Abramović's performance "The Artist Is Present". Where she created a dialogue between people on a non-verbal level. I want to contrast this with what is happening now in my country. Because my close friends and family no longer hear me and do not understand my language, so far, the dialogue happens only with the TV or with people who watch the same channels.
Marina Abramović once commented on her performance "The Onion" in 1995 - "I'm so tired of my migraine attacks ... of my ass being too large ... ashamed about the war in Yugoslavia." (Abramović, 2017. p.158) From the first day of acquaintance with her works, I felt some kind of connection, we have so much in common. Unfortunately, now we are related, also including the war.
The preparatory process and my thoughts on this.
The biggest shock in the process of preparing this project was that during the short time while the TV was working on the first Russian channel, I physically became unwell from what they were discussing there. It is like the same information I heard on German television, but it is somehow different in the sense of aggression and absurdity. But I don't want to judge here.
How will the viewer see this performance from the outside?
Here it is interesting to describe the process of creating this performance. Because after I asked myself this question, I rewrote the following text dozens of times. So I think it was the right question, and only by putting myself in the place of the viewer, I can judge the work without prejudice.
A Russian artist watches Russian television in a gallery and tries to summarize what she remembered for that day. Everyone, in principle, understands that the level of propaganda in my country has reached its peak, or rather, the possible limit. But what will change if I sit like this for 22 days? My sanity is in danger, that's a fact. But let's say I survive this and don't lose myself. To engage the viewer and show a different perception, I will outline the news, and later it will be translated into English. I'm interested to see how my comprehension will change depending on the duration of the experiment. I mean that now I am categorically against Putin's policy and his war in Ukraine. But given that the level of information distortion is high, I wonder if my opinion and attitude toward what is happening will change.
Bibliography and references
1. The cleaner, Marina Abramovic, 2017 Hatje Cantz Verlag GmbH, Berlin
Opmerkingen