The Baptism of Wounds and Scars I have an ongoing interest in the unrecognized and undervalued labor of women and how that is part of a patriarchal capitalist system. Using domestic labor such as washing dishes as gesture to represent the unnecessary obstacles that women contend with during healing, the performance begins in a garment far larger than what is practical to function within. The garment- much like historic hoop skirts, bustles and farthingales- creates distance from the performer and sets her apart as an object to view and not access. The garment lies under a ladder filled with a stack of dinner plates precariously placed. As the performance commences, the ladder shuffles around as the performer moves her garment to initiate movement. The ladder- normally a tool for ascension, acts again as an obstacle and support (or lack thereof) for labor. As the dishes crash down around her, she climbs through the ladder rungs and nudges the fixture across the room to a basin, another tool for labor. This suggests that with shifting perspectives comes clarity once wrongs are absolved. The performance then proceeds to crawl back across the floor to the broken dishes that are then lifted into the skirt of the garment and drug back across the floor. What should be a simple act done thousands of times over, is difficult because a lack of support. As dishes are placed into the basin for baptism, the performer screams in pain until finally she climbs into the basin herself.
‘The Baptism of my Wounds and Scars’ is about my experience of Complex PTSD and the struggle of diagnosis but even with its contention. I count my blessings to have as much love and support in my life as I do however the frustration is the ongoing awareness that i struggle and feel helpless.
Performed for Satellite Art Show, New York, NY
Duration: 26 mins
June 22, 2024
