Untitled (spark) performance with Kim Coleman
(2003 - 2010)

(Tin foil, sparkler, glo in the dark paint, camera flashes, bike lights, string, tissue paper, soundtrack)

A firework explosion is re-imagined and created with handmade leavers, pulleys and tissue paper ticker-tape sparks. The materials and remnants used in the performance remain in the gallery for the length of the exhibition, be it for one night or a number of weeks.

The performance happens in a dark space and lasts for 3 minutes. It begins with a simple recorded electronic soundtrack being played that suggests the various stages of a explosion. Each element of the performance is shared - Kim Coleman works in the foreground illuminating the space with a sparkler, camera flashes and bike lights, whilst I operate string pulleys from the back of the room, which run across the ceiling, and when pulled, expose a firework explosion under foil and release confetti parcels from the ceiling.

The result is a handmade spectacle.

Set up and after the performance
Installation at Antje Wachs, Berlin: Set up and after the performance

The sparkler is lit and rises
PERFORMANCE BEGINS: The sparkler is lit and rises


sparks 

makes things rise and fall
My hands slowly pull string pulleys: makes things rise and fall


Rising higher 

Sparkler dies and the space is dark
Sparkler in front of tin foil panel: Sparkler dies and the space is dark

Revealed by camera flashes
Glo in the dark painted explosion: Revealed by camera flashes

Glows and fades with each flash
A detail of the explosion: Glows and fades with each flash

Confetti falls,lit with bike lights
A bright camera flash reveals kim: Confetti falls,lit with bike lights

lights the gentle, falling confetti
Bike lights in Kim's hands: lights the gentle, falling confetti

Remnants remain in the space
Installation at Antje Wachs, Berlin: Remnants remain in the space