Things have been fairly eventful since my last post, and I have a feeling they will continue to be so. I'm feeling pretty positive about the show, though. Last night was the private view, which went well although I have never enjoyed crowds and found it rather overwhelming. After a bit of a rocky start (involving a slight wardrobe crisis) I was able to spend some time with the friends I'd invited, and have a wander round. I found that more comfortable than staying in my space trying to explain my work to people! One of the highlights of the evening was a brilliant piece of live art by Kate Wiggs, another student, who had secretly employed actors to play a pretentious couple who went round making ridiculous comments about the work (some of which were really hilarious) and then to stage a drunken row in the main gallery. Sadly I missed that part (though their response to my work was one of the first I encountered, and was a little unsure what to make of them!) but everyone's been talking about it today.
I had intended to be in first thing this morning, but my alarm didn't go off (or else I was so tired I slept through it!) so it was after 11 before I got there. I chatted to a few people, did the performance part of my balloon/cactus work a few times, but the last time when I went in to do it, the people who had been in the room seemed to be leaving in a bit of a hurry, and I discovered that two of the cacti had been knocked over and there was soil everywhere. This was not an easy thing to clear up, and it's forced me to rethink the relaxed attitude to viewer-control I'd been taking so far; although it's not part of my intention for the viewer to go up to the balloons and cacti and to physically interact with them, I had decided not to prevent them from doing so. However, I hadn't expected the cactus pots to get spilled, which I feel is a big step too far, and means that I am now in the process of changing the pathway i put in so that it allows more viewers in at the door-end of the room, but hopefully discourages them from going any further. Tomorrow, I will be sorting out a way of roping the rest of the room off. I didn't want to have to be strict, but sadly it seems I have no choice.
