The Crossing Point

(Glasgow School of Art 2014)

Clay from the canal, Lighting Truss, Metal, Wood, Saxophone, 2 performers, water, taupolin, screws, nuts, bolts and all that jazz.

“In a plant there are these two forces… there is the force that goes into the light and there is the force that goes into the dark, into the earth… there is a part of the plant that is only one cell wide called the crossing point where those two impulses co-exist, in a kind of wholeness …”

- Mary Caroline Richards

This work centred around a transparent bag containing 70kg of water (roughly the weight of a person). The bag is clamped between two white rings, suspended from the ceiling and open to the sky. Beneath this structure is a mound of wet clay. During the performance, I am lying on the clay with the bag of water lightly resting on my body. In the corner of the room sits James Steele playing the ten notes of the cosmic octave individually. Each note represents all the planets as well as the Sun and the drawf planet Pluto. These notes make the water subtly vibrate. We both wear white. The work was to exist in both its performative state and alone. The basement studio was chosen specifically so the windows above the work light the water and the performance from above.

Thanks to: Tess Lynch, Perry Costello, Sybren, James Steele, Sarah Bowers, Amy Pickles, Jo and Katalina.