A durational performance enclosed in a glass room, the fragrance of jasmine blossoms seeping out under the door.
This was my first visit to Thailand. Bangkok was in the final week of year-long preparations for the funeral of the Royal Princess, the sister of the King. It seemed as if every shop had shrines and photos of the royal family. As it turns out, it was also two weeks before the airport would be taken over and shut down by protesters.
After some hesitations, the organizers of the festival had decided to proceed with the festival, making adjustments to the schedule so that there were no performances during the period of national condolence.
The festival was housed in a newly built art center. On the ground floor was a photo exhibition of the Princess’s life. The large open stairwell was surrounded at each level by small, empty, glass-fronted shops. As the building had opened so recently, the shops were not yet occupied. It was in one of those spaces that my durational performance was scheduled.
In the days before I had gone to the flower market with a local artist. The place was filled with yellow flowers, in part because of the upcoming funeral. I later returned with her, and purchased many, many bags of yellow chrysanthemum blossoms. I also purchased several bags of the jasmine blossoms that are used to make garlands.
I covered the floor of my space with the blossoms. The audience viewed the action through the glass. Only after several hours did the fragrance of the jasmine seep around the edges of the closed door.
The action was simple. I began in the far back corner of the room, my back to the windows, half hidden by a pillar. First my hand appeared encircling the pillar. Then over several hours I slowly turned and moved across the room to finally lie on my back on the floor amid the yellow chrysanthemums.
In the final half-hour of the action, a number of blossoms throughout the space slowly rose about half a meter above the floor, hovering.
Eventually I stood and left. The flowers continued to float in the air. The door was open and the public could enter the space. The acrid smell of chrysanthemums underlying the overpowering fragrance of the jasmine was stunning.
