Preston, Julieanna and collaborators: Lloyd-Thomas, K., Chilies, P., Tofield, T., Howarth, P., Ghazi, E., Davoll, J., De la Haye, D. murmur [performance]. At West Fragment of Town Wall, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK, 20 April 2017.
A briefing
The performance murmur offers care to a wall, a broken relic rendering a breeched boundary. How does one tend a wall that while eight centuries old, may have out lived its original purpose to keep in and to keep out? What empathy can be extended to stones as geological sediments and material sentiments of the “murus” to persist, still stand? How might the weak yet stalwart body be nursed in light of a resurgence in values that call for edifices and laws towards a practical and symbolic sign of a strong national defense? While allowing for a spectrum of political positions to play out in the performance, tending to the stone wall as a live material body is the primary objective.
This packet is a score to the performance on 20 April:
5:00 am – 6:00 am
8:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The contents of the packet prompt gestures of posture, touch, read and sound. They offer a range of interpretations and opportunities for your own interaction with the wall and with other collaborators. Become familiar with each card. Consider the possibilities each hold for expression and elocution.
Start at the Chinese Gate.
Circumnavigate the wall as a group however big or small.
Offer gestures to the wall, individually or in chorus.
Play with elocution. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Practice the care.
Practicalities.
The performance goes on rain or shine.
Where warm clothes; temperatures are low these times of day.
Turn off your phone.
There is broken glass along the wall and in the grass, so wear sturdy shoes and watch where you sit or kneel.
Rats are found at the wall; they just scurry away about their business.
A team of sound and video technicians will be recording.
You will be listed as a collaborator in the work in any listings or future works that come out of the recordings.