Title

Spatial Separation

Creator

Zara, Natalia

Abstract

In a process of realization regarding our position within spatial and conceptual frames, Spatial Separation is a performance project that attempts an intimate observation of one’s interaction with their environment. The documented performance involves myself, inserted into a state where I am required to consistently bear a pocket that is stacked with small round plastic beads; during the performance, which lasted fourteen days incessantly, I aimed to experience my daily life normally, with the sole exception that, whenever I stayed in a space for one hour or more, I had to pull one bead out of my pocket and mark my presence.

Artist Statement

In a process of realization regarding our position within spatial and conceptual frames, Spatial Separation is a performance project that attempts an intimate observation of one’s interaction with their environment. The performance involves myself, inserted into a state where I am required to consistently bear a pocket, which I have named “instrument”, adjusted on my left ankle, that is stacked with small round plastic beads, named “contents”; during the performance, which lasts fourteen days incessantly, I aim to experience my daily life normally, with the sole exception that, whenever I stay in a space for one hour or more, I have to pull one “component” out of my “instrument” and mark my presence, leaving it there without knowing or minding whether it will be maintained, removed or noticed by others in the time to come. For the completion of Spatial Separation, I was guided by a timer, which I refer to as “assistant”, and the project was mostly documented with my camera that during the two weeks was named “conjunction”. Additionally, the regulations of the project, set by myself, take the form of a “document”, which was demonstrated to my audience in my initial presentation, along with the introduction of my tools and the attachment of the “instrument”. The concluding presentation after the fourteen days passed, included the display of the “record”, which is essentially a list of all the placements of the beads during the fourteen-day span, the presentation of my documentary and the removal of the “instrument”. Essentially, incorporating deeper thoughts and a glance into my own private sphere demanded my vulnerability with the audience for an honest portrayal of my work. Overall, what Spatial Separation discusses is mostly centered on the concept of boundaries and how they may be interacted with; boundaries regarding space, time, our bodies, the environment and the interplay within the public and the private sphere. Ultimately, an integral aspect of my project that deeply fascinates me is the concept of the presence of absence, as in what is it particularly that allows human experience to exert itself from the rigid three-dimensionality and acquire a monumental character, as well as the consequences of this everlastingness. Through a series of deliberate choices, Spatial Separation aims at an intricate observation of time frames and spatial frames, while accepting the factor of chance. Establishing our presence in such times certainly encloses both opportunities and risks, and my fourteen days performance allows all kinds of results to be unfolded while being regulated by a specified set of instructions.

Keywords

intimate

time-based

methodological

Subject

visual arts

Date Available

June 10, 2024

Type

Video

Course

AR 3110 Time Based Media II

Instructor

Nelson, Jennifer

Session

Time-based media

Location

To be added

Event

Year 2024 | 8th Annual Student Research and Creative Arts Symposium