Durational, Relational & Ritual Solo Performances

broken tea cups relational
feel the tension mount as the teacups are slammed down onto the floor
drinking the pieces of broken glass in a clam and orderly manner
stains on the floor trace internal violence


patriotic ritual
darkness broken by the spark of sparklers
playful celebratory dances
subdued and masked by patriotism


un/binding his hands relational
hands bound
racialized bodies
bound, unbound, bound, unbound
freed


prayer for Haiti ritual
darkness lit by candle light
basins of water
cleansing of face
throwing stones of of basins
beautiful voice, sings prayers in Creole


plastic Cinderella relational
humming dreams are the wish your heart makes when your fast asleep...
Cinderella unraveled with sweeping silicone scratching and then packages herself in plastic


smoking as durational, ritual and relational
lit, puff, puff, smoke, burning smell
anxious drags, long and full
deep inhales, exhales, done
burn


ballet foot binding ritual
pretty little sack of tools
seated the tools come out of the bag
first bandages then cushions
beautifully beaten ballet slippers bound onto feet
a few graceful steps and then unbound and discarded


mourning ritual
restless sleep woken
foreign bag of foreign items
a candle, incense, a paper token
weeping
calm
return to sleep


heightened state of being
lashings across the back lit by candle light
first offering with first step up
climbing higher, spitting out
few steps higher, next offering
spit out, few steps higher, next offering
choking, spat out
top step seated,reading names of angels
book slams against floor
climbing down
eating spat food, licking floor


brushing teeth ritual
at plinth
brushing of teeth
gargling with water
spit all over floor


tweezing the face durational
the reason I did this is because when it came to thinking of actions/gestures that are loaded with meanings i thought of my teenage pastime of plucking hairs out of my face. insecure about my facial and body hair, i used to put myself through all kinds of torture. In Farsi we have a saying that says, "Kill me but make me beautiful", I used to recite this to myself as I'd have my hair pulled out from head to toe. This action became more and more absurd to me as I grew older and realised that I didnt HAVE to do this to myself in order to be considered beautiful.