Performance and installation. 2014.
Audio, silkscreened wallpaper, silkscreened take-away (a device for viewing the sky), grass and maintenance.
I had a persistent memory, and in response I gave an instruction, written on a piece of paper that I taped to the wall: Lie down on the ground, look up at the sky and think of Helen Johnson. For 2 weeks (or more–I lost track) I did exactly this as I left my home each morning. It was winter, and the action made a body-sized indent in the snow. I wasn’t sure how to share the story of this memory and my response. I tried lots of things and eventually this installation was born.
The wall paper is a series of images of bougainvilleas. The gallery floor is covered with sod. A woman’s voice tells a story. The silkscreened take-away (which doubles as a device for viewing the sky) has the following text:
Helen Johnson is the name of Jim’s mother. Helen Johnson is also a variety of bougainvillea named for a nursery owner and landscape designer in Florida.
It is said of the bougainvillea that it is “an immensely showy, floriferous and hardy plant. Virtually pest-free and disease resistant, it rewards its owner with an abundance of color and vitality when it is well looked after. The bougainvillea’s versatil- ity is legendary. It can be coaxed into a small manageable pot plant or a sizeable tree, to spread itself vertically on a wall, or climb up a trellis and form a luscious crown or burst forth into graceful arches. It makes one of the best hedges, bushes, and curb-liners. And as for bonsai or topiary purposes, it has few equals, lending its complex branching to the pruning shears, which promote even more unique and graceful forms.” [1]
Native to South America, the bougainvillea was “discovered” in 1769 by the French botanist Philibert Commerçon while participating in the circumnavigational voyage of Louis Antoine de Bougainville. The bougainvillea has since proliferated across the Americas and Europe. It thrives both outdoors in warm climates and indoors as a houseplant.
Bougainvilleas require full, direct sunlight.
[1] <https://www.bgi-usa.com/bougainvillea-101/> 7 April 2014