In The Window Placement - Bared Face Performance

After a very nervous morning, I arrived at AirSpace Gallery early to get myself and the space ready for the performance at 12pm. Starting by placing the cameras and tripods that would be used to document the performance; one in the window, one in the street and a third would be handheld to capture close ups. I then placed a chair and the props required in the window space and began to get myself ready. Some friends and fellow students arrived to show their support and I made sure to thank them for coming before starting. The only change made to our plans was to not use the small hatch door into the space for the entrance and exit and as it would be too clunky and clumsy due to the size, fortunately the whole back wall rolls back and is hinged in the centre so I could use that to get in and out. 

The day before I had packed everything I needed and planned out the performance with as much detail as possible. The performance went as planned and worked well I thought, from within the space. I was very nervous before beginning, quite pragmatic and too busy to really feel anything during but afterwards felt both emotional and liberated. I am a person who typically wears a lot of make-up and the act of removing it in public, although originally concerning, was freeing. The performance had a positive response from the viewers and more importantly from Glen! The emotionality of the work and the dual feeling of vulnerability but also strength were something the audience also picked up on. Glen said it was "a really effective, believable and powerful piece" with "really good immersive character work" in which my "movements and expressions effectively convey the work"; performance wise he said I did a "brilliant job". 

I have not detailed each and every part of the performance here as I am very lucky to have excellent documentation which I will include at the end of this post. This includes a full length video from two different angles, multiple close-ups, photographs taken by my partner throughout and images from the viewers. The close-up videos, however, were taken portrait as opposed to landscape, although we had discussed filming everything in landscape my partner not only had to take photos and footage which meant swapping cameras but also used a smart phone to capture the close-up videos. In swapping back and forth they used the phone to film in portrait in the rush instead - most likely because this is the usual way we use our phones. These will still be used though as I will make use of these portrait shots on Instagram and Facebook as those platforms' "stories" and videos in the feed are often in this orientation for the user. 

I am excited to share the images and footage, I was worried I would feel embarrassed or unsure of myself when putting it out online but having had positive feedback I feel ready and happy to share this work. I feel both invigorated and excited for next week's performance which I will begin planning ASAP. 

[Images by Gary Birch]