Embodiment of Water
Performance Trilogy and Installation - Kyoto Experiment. Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto, Japan, 2018
In autumn last year, Lima spent a week accompanying a female chief brewer at Shoutoku Shuzo in Fushimi, Kyoto, learning not only about the sake brewing process but also how she became a chief brewer. Through this encounter, Lima came to understand the importance of water. What function has water played in communities in Japan? And how can water be used as a metaphor for resilience and to help emancipate women from antiquated attitudes? Embodiment of Water comprises of three performances staged in the same space as an installation and in collaboration with Yuya Tsukahara. The performances intervene in the space, changing the installation each time.
For the first performance, "The Ice Cube", 8 blocks of ice were assembled together in the center of the space and tied with two belts. The sculpture was surrounded by projectors showing videos of the sake brewing process. Gestures of washing, hanging, and dripping create an analogy to the actions and dynamic of the workers from the brewery. After the performance and along the course of the first week of exhibition, the ice blocks slowly melted and were eventually released from the belt: changing their state from solid into liquid. The "Ice Cube" stands as metaphor for resistance. It also refers to Lima's earlier works: the contextualization of body discipline and the search for emancipatory and empowering processes.
The second performance entitled "The Chandelier" took place on October 14th. The performance started with intense music and dance. Changing with the music, Lima and Tsukahara shifted from dance to cutting the strings which hung the ice from the ceiling. The ice was strong and hard but also beautiful as it fell and caught the light.
"The Cloud" was the last performance and a metaphor to the ephemeral aspect of water and symbolic represented the end of the presentation of Embodiment of Water for Kyoto Experiment. For that, 100 kg of dry ice hung in the center of the space. Following the dynamic similar to the worker in the sake brewery, Lima carried buckets of boiling water and together with Tsukahara manipulated the dry ice into producing steam. Lima opened the curtains, letting the daylight in, as the video installation started to fade. The performance ends when Lima and Tsukahara climb down a scaffolding and are followed by the audience. The Cloud of CO2 guided the guest in leaving the exhibition space and expanding it to the outside of Kyoto Art Center.
For the first performance, "The Ice Cube", 8 blocks of ice were assembled together in the center of the space and tied with two belts. The sculpture was surrounded by projectors showing videos of the sake brewing process. Gestures of washing, hanging, and dripping create an analogy to the actions and dynamic of the workers from the brewery. After the performance and along the course of the first week of exhibition, the ice blocks slowly melted and were eventually released from the belt: changing their state from solid into liquid. The "Ice Cube" stands as metaphor for resistance. It also refers to Lima's earlier works: the contextualization of body discipline and the search for emancipatory and empowering processes.
The second performance entitled "The Chandelier" took place on October 14th. The performance started with intense music and dance. Changing with the music, Lima and Tsukahara shifted from dance to cutting the strings which hung the ice from the ceiling. The ice was strong and hard but also beautiful as it fell and caught the light.
"The Cloud" was the last performance and a metaphor to the ephemeral aspect of water and symbolic represented the end of the presentation of Embodiment of Water for Kyoto Experiment. For that, 100 kg of dry ice hung in the center of the space. Following the dynamic similar to the worker in the sake brewery, Lima carried buckets of boiling water and together with Tsukahara manipulated the dry ice into producing steam. Lima opened the curtains, letting the daylight in, as the video installation started to fade. The performance ends when Lima and Tsukahara climb down a scaffolding and are followed by the audience. The Cloud of CO2 guided the guest in leaving the exhibition space and expanding it to the outside of Kyoto Art Center.
