I performed Aphanisis [Disappearance] for the ‘The Open Body’ at Scratch Art Space, Marrickville. The performance score reads as follows,
“Kneel in front of a bowl of water. Look at your reflection. Lean forward and immerse your face in the water. Hold your face under the water for as long as you can. When you cannot hold your breath any longer, remove your face from the water. Let the water drip off your face into the bowl. Wait until the surface of the water in the bowl is calm and then repeat the action.”
In this performance I explore the tension between appearance and disappearance. I attempt to merge with my reflection in a way that destroys it and threatens to destroy me, but each time I resurface and so does my reflection in the water.
Photography: Isobel Markus-Dunworth.
Tom Isaacs 