The Music Party, Performance Still, Dawn WoollyI sat still for twenty minutes. I sat still, balancing a knife in a red glass. My concentration focused on not letting the clinking sound of metal on glass become obvious. A man to my left is holding a sea salt oyster. He is offering it to me. The offer of sea salt sexuality becomes overwhelming as time passes by. He is concentrating on his stillness. I am his focus. The second man to my left towers above us. He is about to pluck the strings of his instrument. He is about to pluck for the whole twenty minutes of anticipated action. He is concentrating on his stillness. I am his focus.
The viewers anticipate our animation. You could cut the tension with a knife. Not the knife in my hand though, that has to remain still.
The creator of this elaborate tableau turns the light on to release us from the stillness.
The Music Party was a one off live action created by Dawn Woolly for her current exhibition Visual Pleasures at Turnerhouse, Ffotogallery, Penarth, July 20th 2011. Myself and two other performance artist’s John Rowley (aka Good Cop Bad Cop, holding instrument) and Richard Huw Morgan (aka Good Cop Bad Cop, holding oyster) sat still, in the photographic installation for a twenty-minute period. It was a joy to take part in someone else’s work, and enjoy the moment. It’s very hard to do this when you’re creating your own live work, as there are all sorts of factors that cause worry. I often worry about the audience/participant and my duty to them. I’m always honoured that people turn up to see my work and feel a responsibility to them. When taking part in another artist’s work, those elements become their concern, thus alleviating the pressure for me.
