Gently Off the Ground (2018)
This piece was conceptualized as a response to a performance score written by Udita Upadhyaya entitled "cradle: youmeusthem" for her solo-collaborative show nevernotmusic at Roman Susan Gallery (February 18-March 11, 2018.) Two iterations of it were performed live; once on February 25th, 2018 and the other on March 11th, 2018.
“Gently Off the Ground” is my way of inhabiting and embodying the stories femme family members have shared with me during interviews and long intimate conversations. They are silent movement pieces with an old seat-less chair in which I attempt to find as many ways as possible to contain myself within it, balance and make peace with it, and make it do my bidding. In the struggle to negotiate with this queer and uncanny object, my body becomes alchemically transient, malleable, and porous. This piece is about my femme family members willingness to persist and survive despite circumstances causing them to live in ways they didn’t necessarily dream of - it’s about adapting one’s dreams and trying to find some joy in that.
Photos: Esther Espino — Video: Sophie Bauerschmidt Sweeney