Output details

Some things happen all at once : Performance work which seeks to question the embodiment of notions of sustainability and in what ways an individual spectator could choose to generate the power necessary to animate or influence the work. The central motif of the performance is the construction and decay of a model forest made entirely of ice

Status: Performed and presented in Spain, Germany, Italy, Wales; between January 2008 and December 2009. Originally realised as the culmination of research periods supported by a commission awarded by Escena Contemporanea (Madrid, Spain) and co-produced with Escena Abierta (Burgos, Spain), PNRM (Olot, Spain) and CCG (Ferrol, Spain); collectively awarding residency and production support totalling 24,000€. The work being realised within the context of Brookes’ ongoing artistic collaboration with Spanish artist Rosa Casado. Research questions: • How might a performance work embody notions of sustainability? • In what ways could an individual spectator choose to generate the power necessary to animate or influence the work they are meeting? • How might the natural progression of a durational object work focus a reflective social gathering? • How might performance elements actually constitute their subjects, rather than merely referencing or representing them? Significant features: Reflecting on issues of human behaviour and sustainability, the central motif of the performance is the construction and decay of a model forest made entirely of ice. The model consists of 200 individual ice trees, around a village of 40 ice houses and a single ice church. This object work covers an area 3.5m in diameter, and is placed directly onto the floor of a public space. Heat generated by the presence and activity of the promenade audience hastens the decay of the ice, while attempts can be made to sustain the model using an improvised cooling system powered by bicycle. Additional cycles are used to generate the power needed to animate other aspects of the work. The discourse of the work being established across the delivery of a specifically written text, outlining a progression of ideas, including issues arising from thermodynamics and social physics, and drawing on the writings of Buckminster Fuller and Philip Ball