TO CONSIDER THE BREEZE A COLLECTIVE BREATH — 2020
Video clip from TO CONSIDER THE BREEZE A COLLECTIVE BREATH, 2020 - an hour long performance that streamed live via Zoom on May 29th, 2020 in direct response to the highly publicized instance of police brutality just days before, and the international uprising that would soon ensue. On the evening of this performance, people gathered in the streets for the first of many protests set to take place in Oakland, CA.
Throughout the performance, I slowly formed clay around a wire armature outlining the shape of a breeze block stuttering through space while positioned behind a wall of bricks. Breeze blocks are concrete blocks designed to allow sunlight and the flow of air through an otherwise enclosed architectural space. I imagine these concrete blocks, other building materials, and buildings themselves as being charged with the energy and history of that which moves through and around them. The red bricks seen in the video were found around the SF Bay Area, home to a legacy of artists and activists who have fought and continue to fight for liberation from systems of oppression. This performance was an attempt to harness that energy while giving structure to a form that is representative of brightness, fluidity, and strength: to honor those we have lost, to bolster those preparing to fight back, to consider the breeze a collective breath.