the plea series
The impact of trauma extends beyond the event, modifying behaviors and responses. The plea series unwinds communication as seen in body language. While this form of communication is hardly organized into language, much of the time, the gestures of the body say more than spoken words can.
An affect of abuse is freezing, hardly mustering the ability to speak. Again, this modification is difficult to unlearn so often one hopes for compassion and understanding. The internal monologue plays out in gestures of the body, biting the lip or shallow breathing. That monologue is coded in desperate correspondence for empathy.
Using morse code as a representation of how distant an internal and finite communication is, the scenario either creates a deeply felt connection with others but more likely, a self-imposed alienation, caused by longing for “otherness.” Overall, the understanding of what is said in these pieces is an exercise of social politics. There is a question of how much the viewer will engage in what is being revealed by the subject. Will they watch the demeanor of the subject? Will they take the time to decode the words using the provided morse code alphabet?
plea no. 1: a distant monologue of not leaving well enough, alone [version two]
Performance to Video; 4:01 minutes; 2017
plea no. 2: the effect of what is left, unsaid
Performance to Video; Duration: 1:56 minutes; 2016
plea no. 3: the frustration of one
Performance to Video; Duration: 8:08 mins, 2017
Exhibited in: Converge at SIM Gallery, December 2016; Contemporary Renaissance Women at Banana Factory Art Center in Bethlehem, PA, May - June 2018