Hand to Hand Contact is an “atmospheric” performance that can be performed for almost any duration. The performance is comprised of only one gesture– that of extending a hand as an invitation hold or be held. This gestures is performative in nature. It impels the audience to become active; it elicits a response from the audience, to either reject or acknowledge and act on the gesture.
For the performance of this piece at The Winnipeg Art Gallery, I used a video camera with a live feed to a monitor directly in front of the bench where I was performing. The camera was set up behind the bench. The monitor functioned like a window or a portrait. It framed the performance--making me appear pathetic when I was alone holding out my hand or sweetly paired with the participants.
The monitor creates a focus for visual attention, freeing participants from visual scrutiny and creating a circumstance for the tactile to dominate the visual. Picturing from behind also preserves the participants’ anonymity while creating a symbolic image of togetherness.
Communication and creating opportunities for creative action and interaction are the foucs of my practice. I view my work in general, and the performance of Hand to Hand Contact in particular, as providing a service. I present opportunities for people to experience things that are increasingly rare in our society: kindness, intimate exchange and the potential to be creative. Hand to Hand Contact is a model for caring physical contact for people to apply to their lives outside of the gallery, to shape and transform their everyday lives and relationships in ways that they find pleasurable.