Last Saturday's performance by Lottie Consalvo, 'Steer a Steady Ship', has created a lot of online media interest. Consalvo endured seven hours of consistent and persistent drops of black dye falling on her face. The international online visual art site, ArtInfo, had her on their front page.
Our local Sydney Morning Herald ran a piece on the day and SBS World News Australia Online presented some coverage as well, read and see it here.
This is what Lottie Consalvo was attempting to achieve with the performance:
Our local Sydney Morning Herald ran a piece on the day and SBS World News Australia Online presented some coverage as well, read and see it here.
This is what Lottie Consalvo was attempting to achieve with the performance:
“For seven hours I lay in a bed beneath the boat suspended in midair. From the boat black liquid will drip upon my head. This is based on Chinese torture which can cause psychosis.
”This performance piece was conceived 12 months ago at a time when I was so consumed by anxiety that I could not sleep. I was scared of the thoughts that kept me awake. I feared my partner falling asleep before me. I would beg him to tell me stories of life in a sunroom by the sea to keep my mind afloat, sometimes this would work but mostly I would sink. When he would fall off to sleep it was just me and my mind, I felt completely alone. 'Steer a steady ship' was a line I heard a lot growing up, it meant, hold yourself together and stay focused. At this time I felt like I couldn't hold it together, the ship hung heavy above me, I had no control. Bedtime was a time of absolute torture. I couldn't stop my mind.
“I think this experience is shared by many. The days and nights of struggle living with anxiety and depression.”
This performance was part of Lottie's current exhibition, The Life Exchange, and its aftermath creates an eerie echo of the work on the walls, which can be viewed here.
Exhibition dates: 3 - 20 October 2012
