DAY 2: October 27th
On Thursday, October 27th the 9th thirstDays event took place at VIVO. I arrived at the centre around 3pm and began preparing the evening’s event pamphlets (printing, sorting, and folding) This took a bit of time as there were multiple technical problems with the computer/printer.
This is the pamphlet for thirstDays No. 09 (dying of thirst).The image below shows an excerpt about the next thirstDays event (No. 10) on November 24th, which I will be more actively involved in.
The technical staff (Nik and Alex) spent the day setting up the lights/projectors and testing the live stream/Skype connections. We began setting up the exhibition space for the event at around 6:30pm (placing chairs, pamphlets, preparing the bar, etc). At approximately 7pm Jayce arrived at VIVO with catered food for the event. In total, there were about 4 people actively working towards setting up the space on the day of—I was surprised at how quietly and quickly the event came together.
When the public started to arrive I was taking a break, and there was not much else for me to do but enjoy the perfomances. The evening began with an introduction by Jenny Fraser and Tanniz Nielsen (the event curators) and then went into video performances by various indigenous women artists speaking about the issues of water conservation and the protection of indigenous territories. There was a short intermission where we enjoyed food and drinks, followed by a presentation by Rita Wong.
The evening ended with a powerful performance by Lori Blondeau entitled, ‘offerings.’ Blondeau entered the quiet studio space wearing a long, black gown. Her hair and gown were drenched in water; leaving a trail of wet footprints as she walked barefoot to the stage. After taping a newsprint to the wall, she began unwrapping a small paper package, which contained a dead fish. She also unwrapped a dagger-like knife, and a large piece of blue cloth. While kneeling on the ground (and with the audience completely engrossed in silence), Blondeau began cutting into the fish with the knife. She removed the guts and wiped her bloodied hands on her dress. She then began tearing the large blue cloth into strips with the same knife. Once the entire cloth was torn, Blondeau got up from the floor and left the room, leaving the dead fish and pile of blue scraps in the centre of the stage. The lights dimmed from blue to green, then red, and turned off. The performance lasted approximately 20 minutes, with the audience sitting in complete silence. Blondeau’s meditative and powerful effect on the audience was palpable.