This week we were all given tasks, some individual and secretive, others were shared objectives. I was asked to collect items that had been lost or abandoned whilst walking through the city. So, on my way to the usher and collection I carried out my given task. Whilst doing so a few things came to mind. Firstly, Lincoln is actually quite clean! But, secondly, I began to wonder; what is lost/missed and what is abandoned/forgotten?
My list of objects included:
A pink/purple sparkly hair bobble
An earring
A plastic fork
A bottle cap
There are loads of possible narratives for each of these objects. For example, the plastic fork. This could’ve been someones fork they had specifically packed in their bag that day to eat their lunch with. Or, it could’ve been used to shovel chips and gravy into a drunkard youth’s mouth on a night out and slung on the floor once it was no longer needed. In which case, you can see how the importance of the fork differs with each scenario.
I really liked this task and the direction my train of thought was headed in, so I wanted to see if this could be used as a rubric for a possible performance at the usher and collection. Later on in the day we were asked to write something on a post it note, something of substance which came to us by what we had been doing/looking at. I chose “Lost or abandoned?”
We grouped up with people who had similar ideas and discussed how we could develop these ideas. Kirsty and I connected by looking at objects or places in different ways, imagining narratives for these things and places and questioning their significance and importance.
Relating our ideas back to our site, the usher and collection, we thought about what objects are collected and acquired over the years and displayed as art and as representations of the times they were from. Which got us thinking; what objects would be displayed in gallery’s and museums in 100 years to represent our current time? What is classed as significant and what is simply litter or waste?
To build on this idea, we decided to keep collecting items found around the city over the next few weeks and make a note of it; its location found, time found, type of object etc. Once we feel we have enough objects, curate them into a display amongst the collection and in the gallery and see how the audience will react. Will they inhale it like the rest of the collections or treat it as litter?
“to regard performance as generative of materials produced before, during and after the event, not only as technical information but as a personal experience” (Pearson and Shanks, 2001)
Works Cited
Pearson, M and Shanks, M. (2001) Theatre/Archeology. London: Routledge
litter picture: http://www.thestar.co.uk/webimage/1.6090352.1380282397!/image/3835530617.jpg_gen/derivatives/articleImgDeriv_628px/3835530617.jpg