Getting Out of Bed (2019)
Getting Out of Bed (2019) revolves around one object, an IKEA mattress, and as the piece unfolds, a seemingly destructive action creates different planes of experience. In this work, I cut myself out from within said mattress. Once I fully appear, I remove the mattress from the bedroom, extract its interior parts, then finally remove it from the house and leave it at the garbage bin. The absurd humour that supports the work transforms the action from symbolic to pragmatic.
The video exists in a space between documentation, performance for camera and sound art. It is an exercise of endurance in the vein of 1970s body art. It is also a materialist exploration. Removing myself from the mattress pulls attention to the tools needed, the foam's malleability, and the shape of my body. Broader implications emerge as the sounds of the environment surrounding the action situate the space outside of an exclusively art-based context and in the "natural environment" of said mattress. The presence of a camera (and camera operator) is also implicated in the actions. These combined elements imbue and mobilize the work.
Previous exhibitions:
Complete length: 25:34 (with credits)
Contact Vtape for distribution directly: Distribution and Technical Coordinator Dustin Lawrence distribution@vtape.org
The video exists in a space between documentation, performance for camera and sound art. It is an exercise of endurance in the vein of 1970s body art. It is also a materialist exploration. Removing myself from the mattress pulls attention to the tools needed, the foam's malleability, and the shape of my body. Broader implications emerge as the sounds of the environment surrounding the action situate the space outside of an exclusively art-based context and in the "natural environment" of said mattress. The presence of a camera (and camera operator) is also implicated in the actions. These combined elements imbue and mobilize the work.
Previous exhibitions:
- "University of Ottawa MFA Open House" Ottawa, Ontario. December 13 2019
Complete length: 25:34 (with credits)
Contact Vtape for distribution directly: Distribution and Technical Coordinator Dustin Lawrence distribution@vtape.org
