FOLD {Live}, 2011
FOLD {Live} is an on-going project by Surabhi Saraf – a series of site-specific public performances where performers (volunteers) fold laundry per a choreographed routine. FOLD {Live} celebrates the mundane by taking a private, solitary activity and presenting it, multiplied, in a public space.The performances are conversations with the city’s architectural diversity and embrace the unique characteristics of each space. The nature of each conversation changes with the location: the space acts not just as a backdrop for the performance but also informs various aspects of the performance, including choreography, duration and number of participants. Each site thus adds something unique to the dialog.
FOLD {Live} humanizes Surabhi’s recent project, Fold, a video installation inspired by the multiplication and the repetition embedded in everyday life. In context of the theme of TIME exhibition the pieces have evolved as a study of movement, different body rhythms and what it means to find your own pace. The movement in these performances is deliberately slow. Performers are encouraged to be really absorbed in the textures and details of the fabrics, at the same time also being aware of this group they are part of, sharing the energy and the rhythm of the group.
Four FOLD {Live} performances were held on four consecutive Sundays in four sites around the city of San Francisco in September. The works presented at the LAB include a series of prints called Unfold (in collaboration with Ronit Citri) and video documentation based on each of the four performances. Finally, a performance on the opening night, choreographed in collaboration with Sarah Woods and restructured for the Lab‘s gallery space.
Four FOLD {Live} performances were also held in Parramatta, located in Greater Western Sydney, Australia in November 2011.
For more information on the project please visit http://foldliveproject.net/
For reviews and text on the performances please see the link below:
KQED Arts
San Francisco Bay Guardian: The Performant
One Response to “FOLD {Live}, 2011”
[...] FOLD {Live}, taking place over the next few weeks, is a series of site-specific public performances where people fold laundry to a choreographed routine. One of four San Francisco performances will take place this Sunday, 9/18, at the Federal Building at 4 p.m. Sign up if you are interested in performing in one. [...]