Artwork by LEE MINGWEI @leemingweiandhisrelations

Description

Artwork by LEE MINGWEI @leemingweiandhisrelations | DM to submit @artncba

"Our Labyrinth" is a participatory performance project by Taiwanese artist Lee Mingwei in which single dancers, dressed in floor-length sarongs and wearing ankle bells, take it in turns to sweep a mound of rice in patterns on the floor in a designated gallery space. Such forms are described by the artist as ‘a labyrinthine path of their choosing’, a statement which gives the work its title.

The artist’s instructions for the performance dictate that it should be activated throughout gallery opening hours, for the entire duration of the exhibition period. Each day a ritual is enacted in which a paper ‘wall’ that surrounds the mound of rice is carefully removed and placed in a dedicated area for safekeeping. The dancers operate on a rota of shifts, bowing to each other before passing on the broom. The performance concludes each day with the tidying of the rice into a mound once more, and the replacement of the paper wall. The rice can be placed directly on the floor of the space or on a large dance mat of a shape that might be likened to a pool of ink. This emphasises the associations with writing, since the broom can be seen as a substitute for a calligraphic brush.

My visit to Myanmar was the seed for Our Labyrinth, inspired both by the gesture of removing one's shoes before entering any temple, pagoda or mosque, and by the pristine space created for visitors by volunteers who constantly swept the sacred grounds. For this project, I will first ask exhibition visitors to remove their shoes, thereby enhancing the sensations produced by walking. Second, as visitors walk among the projects, a dancer will sweep a mixture of rice, other grains and seeds through the space, along a labyrinthine path of their choosing. This dancer may encounter obstacles along the way, but will navigate these silently and mindfully.
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