You embrace someone you love. You look up at the moon at night. You return to your favorite spot year after year. We exist in a web of ecologies made up of the people, places, and things we care about. Within it, our gestures, intentions, and repetitions compose our interpersonal human and non-human relationships. love you to death is a poetic and emotional performance entreating these types of actions in an attempt to foster a dedicated relationship with a non-human entity.
This body of work presents an 8-month durational performance with Lake Tahoe, a body of water that is local to me. Through repeated actions, I form a devoted ritual to establish an interdependent relationship with the lake. In spite of early mornings, freezing temperatures, unfavorable weather, shifting circumstances, and the sacrifice of time, I establish this connection. This approach is made in service of ecological compassion as I develop an increased awareness toward the other entities I share this planet with.
in this location-based performance lasting from September 1, 2023 - April 1, 2024, I travel to the lake and submerge myself fully under the water once per week at sunrise, barring serious illness or weather emergencies that prevent my travel. This action constitutes my portion of effort in a collaboration with the lake. The performance is documented with digital photography, video, 35 mm film, and data tracking. Within a set of guidelines, I rely on both human and non-human others to fulfill the performance outcomes.
love you to death is a long-term commitment to an ecological space. In this body of work I showcase uncommon collaborations creating bridges of understanding. Themes of vulnerability, recognition, ritual, and repetition demonstrate a need for increased awareness and compassion in movements with the many others we share our planet with.
don't go just yet
video document - selected segment from week 28
duration: 1 hr 17 min
this piece is comprised of 32 video segments documenting the physical undertaking of the performance. videos were recorded weekly during the 8-month performance at the same location on the northwest shore of Lake Tahoe.
