I am focused on creating works that directly reflect ‘man’s basic condition’. I am concerned with breath as a generator for the work. The life that each of us lives and the imprints we leave in the world interest me.
In ‘Marking Breath’ I put the act of breathing – an action that unites us all – at the centre of the work. From sunrise to sunset, I sit silently at a table. At each exhale I carve a line into a small metal panel positioned in front of me. This self-contained performance consists of nothing more than a single, repetitive act of recording. Seemingly subtle and simple, this performance is neither; it requires an extraordinary degree of restraint and endurance – a determined act of rebellion against the frenetic, stimulated society in which many of us live.
Kindly supported by The Danish Arts Foundation.
The Mind Marking Breath.
Guatemala City. 25th February 2017. Sunrise 6.26 am – Sunset 6.07 pm
Plaza de la Constitution in front of the Cathedral. Morning. People wake up. Sweeping the Plaza. The streets. Ready for new stories to be told. Executed. First breath. Birds. Man is shouting in front of the Palace, arms out to the side, praying. Cries drama in his voice. Breathing life good bad sad happy desperate despair shouting from the mouth of man. People walk by. It’s not their show. Imprint Exhalation into copper panel. Making a shine with a nothing in the middle. Man crawls down below the ground. Police come to check the act, they smile, act of breathing is obviously okay. The Fountain starts a beautiful big flower. People fill up the Plaza. Saturday meetings. People start to approach they join me breathing and marking. Slamming sound. I look. Man out with his goats. He strikes his whip. Church bell, it’s 7, 8 or 9. I lost time, but still breathe shadow from the Church. Pancho and Pi are there. I smile. I look. I breathe once into the future once in the past. Sun spiral grows. Catching the light. Flowers, photographers, shoe polishers, kids eyes looking into mine. A boy is feeding the doves. They appear from out of the nothingness. Thousand of doves. Hungry. A champion runner joins me briefly -he runs the world. Runs fast. I’m sliding out between the walls of time time time. A homeless woman is preparing her moving away from the fountain and into the nearby trees standing in the sides of the square. Avoiding the midday sun. She brings a lot of water. Walking back and forth. Feeding the water to the trees and her feet. Walking back and forth only stopping when her huge loose pants make the slip. She stands naked. The shadow from the hat protects me. I do nothing. Trapped imagination. My eternity. I breathe. Celeste’s eyes meet mine. Church bell. Time is passing by. Late darkness comes from behind. I smell chocolate. I face east like the temple. Always. Postcards have been filled. Eyes, we looked into each other. Do we own this life? I feel I’m borrowing. Eny’s eyes meet mine. Rain in between. Space appears. Darkness surrounds the raindrops. All wet. Time drowned last breath this day.