ARTISPHERE
ELSABÉ DIXON: LIVE/LIFE
DISCUSSIONS ON LIVING ENVIRONMENTSWED OCT 1 – SUN FEB 22, 2015 Artist in Residence Studio
Artist on site studio hours: Thurs & Fri 6-10pm, Sun 12-5pm
(EACH SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH THE AIR GALLERY WILL HOST A CONVERSATIONAL TEA)
LIVE/LIFE will show an insect life cycle as an ephemeral gesture throughout the time period of five months. A simple gesture of revealing the life-cycle of insects (in particular the domesticated silkworm or Bombyx Mori) will allow visitors to the art center to “observe (and interact with) nature, inside”. The insects used are silkworms, the only domesticated insect in the world and the silk worms are familiar with - and even rely on - human interaction. These insects are not behind vitrines and there are no barriers between the insects and the audience. Those visiting the A.I.R gallery can get as close to, or as far away from, the insects as they feel they want to. Through the interaction of people, insects, and a particular scene/live installation environment, those who come through the gallery doors could experience the renewed understanding of their personal expectations and associations with things inside that should be outside. The idea is to create a dynamic interpretation of LIFE CYCLE, which produces an activated live gallery space of simultaneous and collective sensory reception, which will inspire story telling.
As part of my residency, I would like to invite Artisphere patrons to witness and participate in the Live/Life Projects and have artist collaborations on Thursday and Friday evenings. I would also like to invite engineers; mechanics; architects; food practitioners; scientists; curators; art historians; writers; poets; philosophers; friends; and Postmodern philanthropists, into the A.I.R studio space at Artisphere for “Organic Tea” conversations on Sunday afternoons between 1 and 5 pm. These activities and discussions surround a monthly theme, which are listed below:
October: Systems of Construction and how they work. Patrons are invited to participate in the agricultural practice of sericulture (raising silkworms for the purpose of silk production) and in communal work of constructing an interactive, live, and imagined environment out of repurposed cardboard, rubber and sericulture detritus.
November: New Research on Theory and Practice of Sorting and Searching. Patrons are invited to participate in the practice of sorting and searching in communal work by organizing sericulture materials, live silk moths and insect detritus for specific outcomes that investigate systems and cells, as well as “sounds”.
December: Ritual and Sequential Methods of Storytelling. Patrons are invited to participate in the practice of ritual and sequential methods of storytelling, and in communal work of constructing an interactive, live, and imagined environment out of repurposed cardboard and sericulture detritus.
January: Growing, Preparing, Presenting and Distributing Food. Patrons are invited to participate in a discussion of growing, preparing, presenting and distributing food, and in communal work of constructing an interactive, live, and imagined environment through mapping of food sources, recipes, presentations and packaging.
February: Possibilities of Transcendence while working within Life Cycles and Time Frames. Patrons are invited to participate in the communal work of constructing an interactive, live, and imagined environment through cyclical processes that question maintenance, the ritual of repetition, and of using time within the context of materials, cultural history, ecology and the local economy. This month will mark, and archive, a collection of scientific language, a pictographic lexicon and the narratives accumulated during the four-month period of experimental “Lab” time at Artisphere, and many Sunday Teas.