PROJECT PROFILE
Time: October 25-28, 2011
Space: The Cove in Taiji, Japan
Credits: "Pneumonia" and excerpts from "Scatterheart" - Music and Lyrics by Bjork
Videography: Leah Lemieux
Video Documentation: All Apologies(3rd performance)
Campaign Clip by Leah Lemiux
Photo Documentation: Leah Lemieux
By the invitation of Earth Island Institute and Save Japan Dolphins.Org via Leah Lemieux, author of the book "Rekindling the Waters", four performances were staged at the infamous cove in Taiji, Japan. The site-specific pieces were performed in a span of three days to illustrate the various ruminations concerning the plight of the small cetaceans that pass near the waters of Taiji, a small coastal town in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan.
Mother Grief. Photo by Leah Lemieux
Mother Grief reacts to the artist's prelude to his arrival in Taiji. A pod of Risso's Dolphins were slaughtered after a considerable number of zero-kill days for the fishermen. The slaughter included a mother and her calf. The performance is a dance of empathy. The artist dons a woman's image shrouded in a black mourning veil. He carries with him sand from his island Cebu in the Philippines roughly 3,000 kilometers away from Taiji, Japan. The sand is scattered in the waters of the cove in place of dirt thrown into a grave. He artist then offers a song for the bereaved and to the female/mother spirit emobodied:
Return to Mother Ocean. Photo by Leah Lemieux
Return to Mother Ocean illustrates a longing to commune with our marine origins and reconnect with the biggest part of the planet, the oceans and their inhabitants. Site-specificity indicates cetaceans as the key peoples to interact and learn from which unfortunately have been relegated to commodities. The artist's limbs end in rocks indicative of his terrestrial orientations as well as the weight and density of his humanity. He finally reaches the shore and finds solace.
All Apologies. Photo by Leah Lemieux
All Apologies reacts to a slaughter the artist witnessed in his time at Taiji. The day before the performance, another pod of Risso's dolphins were driven into and slaughtered in the cove. The performance reaches from the deepest core as the artist reveals his identity and attempts an audience with the cetaceans spirits in his native language Cebuano. He requests to be heard by the victims of the cove and does a dance of remorse and regret. He leaves the scene without turning his back, vowing never to look away from the horrors of the cove.
A Proper Burial. Photo by Leah Lemieux
The final performance titled A Proper Burial is a ritualistic piece that employs certain Japanese burial customs. Since thousands and thousands of Cetaceans have died in Japanese waters, the artist deemed to give a symbolic proper burial for the victims using the rites reminiscent of a shinto burial. During a ruminative dance, the artists carefully chooses a stone letter that describes his sentiments for the cetaceans. After picking a fairly large and heavy gray stone, he whispers his messages into it and proceeds to do a ceremony. He unwraps a black package containing a miniature replica of a Pacific bottlenose dolphin. He wipes it clean and wraps it in gauze in place of burial clothes. He then places the dolphin on top of the stone letter and wraps them with his white veil. The black veil he used as a package replaces the white veil on his face and head illustrating a state of mourning.
A Proper Burial. Photo by Leah Lemieux
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