Durational performance in the city's open-air flea market, as part of Infr'action Festival
International d'Art Performance, Sète, France
The final day’s events were at the large, weekly flea market, which is frequented by a broad cross-section of the population of Sète, including many immigrants. Most people just laid their wares out on blankets, and people walked by scanning the ground with their eyes. They did a double take when they encountered my small empty table.
People associated my black clothing with widow’s garb, or Roma or Muslim women’s clothing, and the ambiguity often made them uneasy. I made eye contact with everyone passing, even though I had on sunglasses, and smiled at them. Many nodded and continued onward, but some stopped.
When they asked what I was selling, I told them that it was time – and asked if they had enough, or whether they needed more? Conversations ensued from there, about how we use and value our time…
