​UNNEGATIVE

19th July 2018
Tempting Failure
Matthew's Yard, London

The prefix un-.
Added to nouns, adjectives, participles, verbs, adverbs, and their derivatives.
Denoting the absence, reversal or cancellation of a quality, state or action.
Deprivation, separation or reduction to a lesser state.
A lack.
​Not.

Charging words with opposite force, the prefix un- turns everything inside-out and upside-down. It changes the positive into negative, the negative into positive. Un- is deeply transformative. It un-does, un-makes, un-breaks.

UNNEGATIVE invokes these powers as an incantation. Somewhere between sculpture and dance, this ritual-action-piece reaches towards the light, forever trying to overcome. UNNEGATIVE is about guilt and forgiveness, about shame and acceptance, and ultimately, about redemption.

This piece continues my ongoing research on ritual-based performance, the relationship between set tasks and the unrehearsable, as well as the affect materiality has on the audience.

​Sound design by Scott Wilson.
Images courtesy of Julia Bauer.