from where we stand
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As a part of a research lab in Tanzquartier Wien, I created a choreographic score for participants, specifically people of color to observe the eyes around them as an active engagement with gaze or socialized perceptions of self vs. other. Within this score, participants are offered a real-time(re)negotiation of the everyday - allowing the stop to be informed by the stare.
THE SCORE
When using public transport to commute (to the store, to work, to friends, to the doctors, etc., etc.) I invited participants to keep count of how many people look/stare at them from the time they enter the public transport (U-Bahn, bus, tram) to the time they exited.
After they exited and they continued to walk to their destination, but I invited them to practice a score of randomly stopping mid-stride, closing their eyes, and standing for as many seconds as the number of looks/stares you counted on the public transport. For example, if they counted 5 looks/stares, they would stand with their eyes closed for 5 seconds.
After they finished counting, they opened their eyes and took a picture of their feet in 1 of 3 poses.
Each pose has a meaning:
Positive
One foot forward - if the majority of the looks/stares felt positive
Neutral
Feet together - if the majority of the looks/states felt neutral
Negative
Crossed feet - if the majority of the looks/stares felt negative
My choreographic score along with others’ works: poems, videos, music, fashion designs culminated into an artistic manifesto. Check out the manifesto HERE