One of the first changes I made to the working process was to invite a creative partner to the process. This lesson I learned during Strings, the third performance within my research project, where I took the sole responsibility for a large-scale participatory work. Even though this work is in a much smaller scale, and my collaborators are mostly more-than-human, I opted to have a creative partner. To have a person to bounce ideas and share decisions with creates an open flow and playfulness in the creation and it improves my existential sustainability by lifting the burden.
I invited my artistic research colleague Charlotte Østergaard, a costume designer and a great artist, to think with me about how we could create simple boxes to contain the work. Charlotte became a bouncing partner that I would test my ideas on and after each bounce I would move forward with ease.
Welcome to this exposition where you can expect to hear the voice of the artist researcher. She will explain how the work developed, what changes she made and what she discovered in the process.
The second edition of Pleased to Meet You was performed at the Inter Arts Center in Malmö, a platform for artistic research that is a part of the Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts at Lund University.
The work was presented as a part of an exposition held in connection to the final seminar of How Little is Engough? research project, conducted by Steinunn Knúts Önnudóttir.
The research focus in the performance was to create a format for a performative encounter between human guests and their more-than-human hosts; sentient and non sentient entities, and create relations between guests and hosts. The work is a do-it-yourself performance, that comes in a box with prompt cards with texts and tasks, and objects to use to perform the tasks.
When you now jump to the next box, you will be directed to the realm of the artist researcher where you will be presented with her perspectives.
For the first edition I had chosen second hand tin boxes from different directions. Each came with a distinct character that created an atmosphere that directed the attention away from the more-than-human hosts. I wanted a more neutral vessel for the work, that blended in with the work. Charlotte made boxes by hand, black paper boxes with compartments for each item of the kit, and I made matching notebooks by hand and used stamped titles on boxes and books. The three boxes were alike but still different in shape. The new boxes created calm and they collected the three parts of the work together.
Another addition I made, was to create visit cards with the three host names on for each guest, to be stamped after each visit. The name of the guest and the date of their visit is written on the card. It acts as a certificate for the encounters. This adds an element of play for the guests as they start to collect stamps. From my first work, No Show, I understood how important it is to place the name of the guest somehow into the work. The guest is seen and recognised by giving them stamps for their presence in the work.
These aesthetic adjustments not only made the work more consistent but also clearer and more concise.
Again, I chose to create performative encounters with three agents. These were, Långadammen, a pond in a public park, the community of birds in the public square Möllevångstorget, and a projector in the Inter Arts Centre.
I used the dramaturgical structure from the pervious edition and adjusted the text material to relate to the new surroundings. As in previous works I work with three modes in the structure that manifested in the three types of tasks the guests are invited to perform: observation, contemplation and action.
These different modes stimulate the guest’s different senses and way of processing the content matter. Bouncing between an inner and outer gaze, between doing and reflecting. The content is what Malmö city and IAC bring, together with the humans and more-than-human entities that pass through the work.
Hi, I am pleased to meet you
Who am I?
I am the card you are reading that has been given voice by Steinunn,
the artists that brought us together. Me and my fellows will be guiding you
through the piece. We are a collective of different agents that work together on
making this encounter smooth.
You will be invited to bring this work alive by accepting a series of invitations.
You can accept the invitations literally or reflect on them internally.
When you have finished, we ask you to return us to where you found us.
Enjoy your experience.
You are invited to the VR Studio
Take time to observe your surroundings on your way to the studio.
Pay attention to individual things. Greet objects and phenomena that you
meet on the way as they where beings like yourself.
As an example, to me you could say, “Hello, card”, to the doorknob
“Hello, doorknob” or “Hello, you”.
You can use your own language, your outer or inner voice.
The thing might answer back in their own language, with their outer or inner
voice. When you have found the room, enter, and close the door behind you.
Sit down on the chair and read the next card.
Role
Let me introduce you to the Sony VPL-HW15 projector.
This projector belongs to the Virtual Reality studio.
In this room artists work on creating virtual universes drawing on their
imagination and vision for the future.
The role of the projector is to mediate these visions.
Inside it there is a lamp that lights up images and projects them into the world.
Invitation to observe the projector
Pay attention to its form and colour.
Pay attention to its complex structure and features.
Pay attention to the beam it projects.
Invitation to interact with the projector
Introduce yourself by name to the lamp and share with it what you see as
your role in life.
Invitation to contemplate
Imagine the images the projector has mediated here at the Inter Arts Centre
through its lifetime?
What future prospects do you see for this projector?
Does the projector please you?
Transformation
Our projector is an assemblage of materials that together make up an object
that has a complex technical function. The many materials of the lamp are
made up of the same materials as you. Like 97% of all matter on earth you
are both made of stardust.
The materials in the projector have gone through transformational processes manipulated by men to become this object in front of you.
It is made to serve you.
Invitation to sense
Move close to the projector.
Close your eyes and breath deeply.
Touch the projector, stroke it.
Feel the textures and temperature.
Try to tap into its energy.
Invitation to change perspective
Imagine being the projector.
Imagine it´s interactions with its surroundings.
Imagine what goes through it.
Invitation to contemplate
What is the lifespan of this projector?
How does sense of time in a projector’s universe manifest?
How have you been transformed during your lifetime?
Connection
Like you the projector depends on connection.
To be able to project, the lamp must connect to a complex web that provides electricity created by winds, sunlight, and water, to be transformed into a
light beam. It is a hybrid system created by humans to generate energy,
a rhizome that stretches throughout Sweden and Europe into homes and workplaces.
Invitation to connect to the source
Turn the power of.
Let the projector wind down, then disconnect the power plug from the wall
and sit down again.
Pay attention to the shift in energy.
Pay attention to your own body, and how vital energy is pumped from your
heart through the complex web of your veins to your limbs and head.
Put the plug in and turn the projector back on.
Imagine the web of electricity in this city, that pumps wind power from the sea in Oresund, sun power from the flat fields of Scania and nuclear driven thermal
power from Barsebäck nuclear powerplant, through underground electric veins
into the projector.
Invitation to contemplate.
How different are you from the projector?
What do you connect to for power?
Does anyone have the power to turn you off?
Does anyone have a remote control for you?
Dialogue
You are now invited to enter a dialogue with the projector on your own terms.
You are free to use your own language. You can use words, sounds, movements,
or telepathic communication. Listen carefully to the language of the projector and feel free to interpret what you perceive.
When you have finished your dialogue, you are invited to share highlights of your conversation in the dialogue book.
Enjoy.
Here are a few prompt lines to get the conversation going.
You: I want to thank you for ...
Projector: In my existence I depend on ...
You: I cannot live without ...
Projector: I never forget ...
You: Tell me about your struggle …
Projector: I remember …
You: My wish for the future is ...
Projector: Tell me about empathy ...
Hi, I am pleased to meet you.
Who am I?
I am the card you are reading that has been given voice by Steinunn, the artists that brought us together. Me and my fellows will be guiding you through the piece. We are a collective of different agents that work together on making this encounter smooth.
You will be invited to bring this work alive by accepting a series of invitations. You can accept the invitations literally or reflect on them internally. When you have finished, we ask you to return us to where you found us.
Enjoy your experience.
You are invited to find a bench on Möllevång square
where you will meet the community of birds.
There is map on the next page that will guide you.
On your way, pay attention to the things around you. Greet objects and
phenomena as they where beings like yourself.
As an example, to me you could say, “Hello, card”, to the cloud
“Hello, cloud” or “Hello, you”.
You can use your own language, your outer or inner voice.
The thing might answer back in their own language,
with their outer or inner voice.
When you have found your place, sit down, and read the next card.
Community
If you sit here for long enough, the community of birds will eventually
expose itself to you. This is a gathering place for different species of birds
that live side by side in some kind of harmony.
A community that is dynamic, competitive and at times hostile.
These birds all belong to this place, and the place belongs to them.
Over 350 different bird species fly over Scania each year, only few of them
make a stop in Möllan, but human inhabitants from over 180 countries
pass this square every year.
Invitation to observe
Pay attention to the different species of birds.
Pay attention to the birds’ behaviours.
Pay attention to all the sounds the birds make.
Invitation to act
Try to reach the birds attention.
Introduce yourself to the community of birds.
Tell them your name and share with them something personal that you
think might interest them.
Invitation to contemplate
What bird traits would you like to have?
What human traits do you think the birds would benefit from?
What would it take for you to be able to recognise any of the birds later?
View
Birds have a different perspective from humans.
When we talk about bird view, we are usually talking about the view from
the sky, an overview.
Birds have many modes of moving in the world and like humans they shift perspectives depending on their activities, in the sky, on land and in the water.
Their bodies have many features that humankind has copied to create
products that enhance human abilities to move in the world.
Invitation to shapeshift
Close your eyes.
Pay attention to your own body.
Listen to the sounds of the birds and feel their energy.
Let the bird’s energy fill your body.
Open your eyes when you feel that your energy has shifted.
Invitation to change perspective
Choose one bird.
Imagine that you are this bird.
Let the bird´s energy move you.
Move like the bird.
As a bird, watch your human body.
Invitation to contemplate
What does the bird see when it sees you?
How diverse are the different perspectives of humans?
How would it affect your decisions if you had the perspective of a bird?
Changes
The world is changing. The food chain is changing. These birds are
metropolitan birds that live off human waist.
They monitor our movements and map our behaviour in order to exploit
our lifestyle to survive.
These birds rely much on humans for food.
Invitation to interact
Take the bread out and feed it to the birds.
Try to distribute the bread equally among the them.
Invitation to observe
Pay special attention to those who are struggling.
Pay attention to how your relation to the birds change when you start
to feed them.
Invitation to contemplate
What nourishes you, and whom are you dependent on for food?
If your new bird friends were to invite you for dinner, what would they
serve and where would you eat?
Dialogue
You are now invited to create a personal connection to one or more birds and
to have a dialogue with them. You are free to use your own language.
You can use words, sounds, movements, or telepathic communication.
Listen carefully to the language of the birds and feel free to interpret what you perceive. When you have finished your dialogue, you are invited to share
highlights of your conversation in the dialogue book.
You may return to Inter Arts Centre and use the café for writing if you wish.
Enjoy.
Here are a few prompt lines to get the conversation going.
You: I want to thank you for ...
Bird: In my existence I depend on ...
You: Tell me about your mother …
Bird: I remember ...
You: I regret ...
You: My wish for the future is ...
Bird: Tell me about hope ...
Hi, I am pleased to meet you.
Who am I?
I am the card you are reading that has been given voice by Steinunn,
the artists that brought us together. Me and my fellows will be guiding you through the piece. We are a collective of different agents that work together on making this encounter smooth.
You will be invited to bring this work alive by accepting a series of invitations. You can accept the invitations literally or reflect on them internally. When you have finished, we ask you to return us to where you found us. Enjoy your experience.
You are invited to meet Långa Dammen, the pond in Folkets Park.
There is map on the next page that will guide you.
On your way to the pond, pay attention to the things around you. Greet objects and phenomena as they where beings like yourself.
As an example, to me you could say, “Hello, card”, to the wind “Hello, wind” or “Hello, you”. You can use your own language, your outer or inner voice. The thing might answer back in their own language, with their outer or inner voice.
When you find the pond, sit down on one of the benches and read the next card.
Långa Damm
Let me introduce you to Långa Dammen, Folkets Park´s pond.
Like yourself Långa Dammen is an ecosystem, it´s made up of things, organisms, and ideas. Långa Damm was constructed in the early 18th century and has been important for many agents through different times. First as a family oasis for the privileged, later as the workers meeting place and now as a recreational space for the multicultural people of Malmö. The pond itself has been habited by frogs, swans, fish, plants, and manmade objects. It is a complex biosphere of multiple living organisms and microorganisms.
Invitation to observe
Pay attention to the boundaries of the pond.
Pay attention to its form and colour.
Pay attention to its situation and surroundings.
Invitation to interact
Greet the pond.
Tell the pond your name and share with it, things of significance about you.
Listen to the ponds reply.
Invitation to contemplate
What is the difference between the natural and the manmade?
What is the difference between mankind and “pond kind”?
What is the pond to you, beyond being water?
If you do not know the pond personally, think of a pond that you have
a relation to.
Movement
Långa Damm has witnessed human´s activities through more than two centuries, private meetings, political gatherings, solitary moments of sorrow and joy, quiet moments, laughter…
Human and non-human life has unfolded around the pond, changing its role and appearance. Swan pond, frog pond, Long pond. Different lifeforms have moved in its water and manmade things have created movement in and around the pond. It seems calm but Långa Dammen moves and is being moved every second of every day.
Invitation to observe
Pay attention to the movements of the water.
Pay attention to the elements that create movement.
Invitation to act
Close your eyes and pay attention to the movements inside you.
Imagine the water inside of you.
Move as the water.
Invitation to contemplate
How can a pond move you?
What moves, and how does one move?
How can Långa Dammen move forward?
Under the surface
Like you, Långa Dammen is not what it seems.
Under the surface there is a constant and complex chain of interactions happening with energy flowing between different lifeforms that feed from each other.
Invitation to act
Take the cup from the box and fetch water from the pond.
Take it with you to the bench.
Invitation to sense
Pay attention to the qualities of the water.
Feel the temperature of the water.
Smell the water.
Let the water touch you.
Close your eyes and let you become one with the water.
Invitation to contemplate
What lifeforms live inside your body?
How does energy flow inside you?
How different are you from Långa Dammen?
Dialogue
You are now invited to have a dialogue with Långa Damm on your own terms. You are free to use your own language. You can use words, sounds, movements, or telepathic communication. Listen carefully to the language of the pond and feel free to interpret what you perceive.
When you have finished your dialogue, you are invited to share highlights of your conversation in the dialogue book. You may return to the Inter Arts Centre and write in the book at the café, if you wish. Enjoy.
Here are a few prompt lines to get the conversation going.
You: I want to thank you for ...
Pond: In my existence I depend on ...
You: In my existence I depend on ...
Pond: I never forget ...
You: I regret ...
Pond: My wish for the future is that ...
You: My wish for the future is that ...
Pond: Tell me about love ...
The Projector/Do-it-yourself box:
16 prompt cards
1 pencil
1 rubber
1 sharpener
1 handmade conversation book
The Community of Birds/Do-it-yourself box:
16 prompt cards
1 map
1 pencil
1 rubber
1 sharpener
1 handmade conversation book
2 bread buns
The Pond/Do-it-yourself box:
16 prompt cards
1 map
1 pencil
1 rubber
1 sharpener
1 handmade conversation book
1 tin cup with string wrapped into cotton fabric.
Through observations, contemplations and actions, guests create bonds to the agents they encounter and interact with.
The work nurtures existential sustainability of the human guests by cultivating an affective bond to the more-than-human.
The performance is generated in the guests inner space, with their imagination, values and worldviews.
I have developed an approach to performance making, I can call "how-little-is-enough" approach, entailing reduced production, attention to what is in place and what is needed and mindful use of resources.
The human guest experiences multiple encounters during a performance, with sentient and non sentient entities, as well as inner and outer forces, ideas and phenomena.
The artistic methods I am using are
me-thod, performative encounters and
porous & embracing dramaturgy.
The work invites humans to adopt and explore the perspectives of the more-than-human through playful engagement.