In 1978 the French writer Georges Perec noted
every library answers a twofold need, which is often also a twofold obsession:
that of conserving certain objects (books) and that of organising them in certain ways.
Similarly, we may say the same about our lives, the conserving and organising of our selves in (un)certain ways. What arises in and from that process, perhaps beyond words? In undertaking this (dis)ordered/other ways of living, the simple in, pause, out, pause rhythms of breathing can be understood as both process and outcome – the means to conserve, connect, create and the result of (dis)order/other.
inorder_4_cecilia white 2014
This performance work was an investigation of order and disturbance of and between selves within the breathing space of Customs House, Sydney on 19 September 2014. Cecilia White’s site-specific performance brings together 40 participants from around the world, including four empty places, to the Library Reading Room to explore (dis)order, (un)knowledge and (dis)connection for forty minutes using voice, light and text. Whether there is order to be found between s(h)elves, between words or elsewhere remains in the air….briefly. The audience was invited to engage with distURBANS, in (no) particular order.
Customs House was once the processing institution for Australia’s ‘new arrivals’, simultaneously making a statement about its current citizens. This work draws on the intersection between how we ‘arrive at a sense of our selves’, if indeed we accept that we may be more than one definitive self. This work engages with cultural and intergenerational distance and administrative and personal (dis)order, in much the same way as Perec draws on books which may be a symbol of our lives – the language, the building, our bodies – breathing… by considering order, knowledge and other ways of be(com)ing. And what is missing, not there yet or what we just can’t quite make out…
in/form/ation missing (seeking god in the library?)_concrete poem_cecilia white paris 2014
Experimental sound, choreography and installation by Cecilia White. Her related The Book of O and the interactive work submission were also exhibited.
inorder_1_cecilia white 2014
inorder_2_cecilia white 2014
This work, developed from her residency at the Cite’ internationale des arts in 2014, continues Cecilia White’s investigations into the breathing space between anxiety, wonder and the in(de)finite of our self/selves.
in no particular order_distURBANS A_cecilia white 2014
in no particular order_distURBANS B_cecilia white 2014
Details
in (no) particular order: distURBANS Opening Night Event, Art & About Sydney 2014
8pm, Friday 19 September 2014 (Music and light refreshments from 7.30pm)
Customs House, Level 2 Library Reading Room, Circular Quay, Sydney
Performers include: in (no) particular order…
Kel Henderson (English), Rae Desmond Jones (English), Victoria Lobregat (Tagalog), Paola Favaro (Italian), Anneke Strupitis-Haddrick (Italian), Markela Panegyros (English), Mia Stone (Spanish), space, Alexandra Mitchell (English), Jia Zhuang (Cantonese), Cecilia White (German/English), Janette Hoppe (Maori), Stella Chen (Taiwanese), space, Tanisha Ameen (Bangla), Reihaneh Pourhamedani (Farsi), Do Nguyen Lap Xuan (Vietnamese), Zeynep Dilek (Turkish), Praktiksha Nagesh (Hindi), Ria Dev (Urdu), Sheetal Gur (Malay), Rhonda Siu (French), Sobia Ameen (Bangla), Samira Abbasalipour (Farsi), space, Mana Ohori (Japanese), Thamali Lekamge (Sinhala), Divyangana Dhankar (Hindi), Rajveer Singh (Punjabi), Hui Li (Chinese), space, Abbas Haghshenas (Farsi), Chun Li (Chinese), Ak Akawi (English), Robin Elhaj (Arabic), Maddy Doyle (French), Susannah Thorne (English), Maria Christou (Cypriot), Mickael Akkerman (Portuguese), Osborn Wang (Chinese), Flora Mavrommati (Greek)…
Images in order 1-4 by Wong Fook Thye. distURBANS A-D by David Lyall. Further documentation will appear – in the right order, at the right time…or some other way.
in no particular order_distURBANS D_cecilia white 2014
Some of the moments along the way – from the storm to the rest of our lives…
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFf6OU109Qs
in no particular order_distURBANS D_in full light__cecilia white 2014
Call Out Details (now closed)
This is a call out to all voices (no performance art or poetry experience necessary) who may be in Sydney or know someone who may be in Sydney on Friday September 19th. Details are attached below and as many languages as possible – including English – are wanted to create something momentary and beautiful in Art & About 2014.
To register your interest simply reply to ceciliawhite@yahoo.com.au. You will receive more information and meeting details.
Experimental sound, choreography and installation by Cecilia White. Her related The Book of O and the interactive work submission will also be exhibited.
This work, developed from her residency at the Cite’ internationale des arts in 2014, continues Cecilia White’s investigations into the breathing space between our anxiety, wonder and the in(de)finite.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
