Untitled (Sauna), Live Performance: 22 February 2020,
Arteles Creative Centre, Hämeenkyrö, Finland
(Still from video documentation by Matt Shaw)
25 Minutes
Link to video documentation (3.5 min clip): https://vimeo.com/428458042
An action based site-specific performance in a traditional wood-burning sauna at the Arteles Creative Centre. Untitled Sauna, exploring self-punishment and masochism.
Untitled (Sauna) was performed on a silent day (part of the silence awareness existence programme); residents were invited individually via a written note.
The sauna is a substantial part of Finnish Culture and is seen as way of purification of body and soul, before sauna one must wash the body, this performance explores the idea of the prelude in relation to the sauna ritual.
Using buckets and ladles I combine water from a cold-water tap and a wood-burning hot water tank into a bowl. I pour the tepid water over myself, drenching the body and mind; this process is then repeated for duration.
The sound of running water, the clanking of ladle on tank and the splash of falling water, all heightened by the silence and closeness. An intimate space with only one-way in and out. The audience and myself become immersed as the room gradually fills with steam.
Arteles Creative Centre, Hämeenkyrö, Finland
(Still from video documentation by Matt Shaw)
25 Minutes
Link to video documentation (3.5 min clip): https://vimeo.com/428458042
An action based site-specific performance in a traditional wood-burning sauna at the Arteles Creative Centre. Untitled Sauna, exploring self-punishment and masochism.
Untitled (Sauna) was performed on a silent day (part of the silence awareness existence programme); residents were invited individually via a written note.
The sauna is a substantial part of Finnish Culture and is seen as way of purification of body and soul, before sauna one must wash the body, this performance explores the idea of the prelude in relation to the sauna ritual.
Using buckets and ladles I combine water from a cold-water tap and a wood-burning hot water tank into a bowl. I pour the tepid water over myself, drenching the body and mind; this process is then repeated for duration.
The sound of running water, the clanking of ladle on tank and the splash of falling water, all heightened by the silence and closeness. An intimate space with only one-way in and out. The audience and myself become immersed as the room gradually fills with steam.