Eat of Me While I Sleep

"Even in our anger and rejection of the systems that contain us, we become non-consensually complicit in a web of society and citizenship, forever at the mercy of the mechanics and technologies of predation. Since childhood we have been indoctrinated and primed to accept constant threat as a normality, to situate ourselves as fair game in the sights of the more powerful.

The sculptural installation features mosquito nets, which are designed to protect against predatory insects while we sleep. In this work, the nets both ensnare the audience while offering a translucent semblance of cover from the outside world, providing a false sense of security and shielding from interference and manipulation. The interactive space is interspersed by scaffolds, infested with clusters of nails. The scaffolds evoke predatory construction masked as development and strengthening, while also conjuring images of capital punishment meted out by states upon those who do not conform or obey.

The soundscape of the installation captures the suspension we hang in waiting for the next onslaught and again in the vacuum of the aftermath of an event. These sculptural elements together reflect the lingering, ever-present psychological trauma that develops in response to prolonged and repeated experiences of being preyed upon in a reality in which escape or even respite seem impossible.

The work in all its elements represents and embodies living through collapse as the veil slips and the realities of the predatory world are unavoidable. Yet the sensations of helplessness open out to the theme of interconnectedness. Through the transparent mosquito nets and hollow scaffolds, the common and shared nature of histories are emphasized. The choreographic installation alienates the audience from their self-image of isolation and encourages transcending individual experiences to reflect on the collective anxiety that lingers on through decades of subliminal and overt violence."

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.