Window SlipWindow Slip was a live performance with clay in collaboration with Cally Trench. In Window Slip, I stood in the outside stairwell in front of the metal barred kitchen window. Cally Trench threw at, and poured clay on, me with various containers. At the top of the stairs she emptied the bucket over my head. Cally then poured black iron oxide onto my head and shoulders. Window Slip, Body Cell Slip (both live) and Skin and Slip (video) are part of a related sequence of performances, exploring captivity and constraint, and the effect of gravity and surface tension on the interaction between the clay and my skin. In Skin and Slip, the clay slid down my skin, drifting randomly in rivulets and missing some patches, as expected. However, an unexpected outcome was the bouncing of the clay off the top of my head. In Body Cell Slip, I paced around the cell, like a caged animal or a prisoner, creating a slippery track, which marked the passage of time. My feet became clogged with clay and the clay on my face began to dry and crack. |
