So I went up Arthur’s seat again with my seat. It didn’t return home in one piece.
This performance was a combination of ideas that I have previously explored – deconstructing, reconstructing and personification. I started by destroying the object, then attaching it to myself with parcel tape, and began to try moving walking and moving about within the new restrictions I had placed on my body. I had a lot of fun with this, and a big thanks to everyone that came with me and engaged with the performance.
The above video is an abridged version of the original, which was first livestreamed to @EcaYear2 Instagram account. Since it was filmed on a phone, the recording also faced many restrictions of it’s own, most prominent being the audio, which the pummelling wind has made near unlistenable. Another feature is the poor video quality; I think the fuzziness adds to the surreal creature I have made, and makes the environment seem somewhat otherworldly. Some parts of the video have become too pixelated however, probably due to a momentary loss of connection.
Bridie and Carys also joined my trip up the seat to present their own performances (which were also livestreamed to @ecayear2). We’d all shared the same urge to interact and perform in this environment, the imposing presence of this extinct volcano and it’s rugged landscape are very tempting. Making art outside in the fresh air in collaboration with others was a very positive experience for me.
Struggling to carry the chair up the hill and beating it against the rocks felt like an almost biblical experience, it reminded me of all the stories I was taught from a young age of ancient men carrying sacrifices up a mountain to speak with God, but a lot colder and with less death.
During a tutorial, this performance was compared to the Burryman ceremony, a Scottish tradition with a long forgotten and much debated history. On the second Friday of August, a local man is covered in burry – a sticky flower head – to the point at which it is difficult to move his limbs. Despite this, he must walk a nine hour journey around South Queensferry.
After my mum watched the video, she commented on how I used to hate removing plasters when I was little, and thought I may have had some trouble removing the tape afterwards.
