Gift

• 2010-11-01

  video by Julian Triandafyllou

• 2010-10-31

  

  one

  the crowd drinks in an adjacent waiting room (gaudy lighting, TV on one side, detuned radio on the other, inane chatter with strangers). An open-faced girl in white appears, and leads one guest away from the group, lantern in hand. They blow out her lamp, and enter the room.

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  two

  a figure moves behind a screen, dancing and whispering, brushing against the material.

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  three

  she sweeps the billowing screen with her breath.

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  four

  glimpses of skin and hands

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  five

  a pause, and the figure’s hands flick through the screen, reaching out to the guest.

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  six

  the hands cover the guest’s eyes, and they are blindfolded from behind.

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  seven

  blind, they are touched, shifted, turned by unseen hands.

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  eight

  they are held, supported, swayed, shifted. A long, deep hug, that pulls away to leave them alone in the space.

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  nine

  the guest is surrounded, held, and with a deep in-breath lifted off their feet, laid on their backs, their blindfold removed.

  they are presented to a vision of an upside-down world.

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  ten

  before them, also hanging upside down, the singer is revealed; hair hanging, body swaying, eyes gazing. Behind her, trees drip like paint down the wall. She finishes her song, and hands them a white feather.

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  eleven

  outside the room, each audience member adds their feather to the tree: rough twine hung with a bottle full of milk, over a full white bucket.

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  twelve

  outside on the sun-deck, overlooking Regent’s Canal, a post-show chill-out tent; Oliver’s father in full camping gear makes tea for the guests on a gas stove. They leave or stay as they please.

• 2010-01-30

  

  audience feedback notes

  continued on next image…

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