project image
Monica Sobczak
A ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MOSS #3

first performed on October 4, 2013
performNOW!, Winterthur, Switzerland
performed once in 2013

BBB JOHANNES DEIMLING

Monika Sobczak

Fredrikstad, Norway
bbb@bbbjohannesdeimling.de / photo@mmonikasobczak.com

A ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MOSS #3
BBB JOHANNES DEIMLING

“a rolling stone gathers no moss” is a cycle of performances that I started in 2013. In these performances, I focus on movement and motion in a metaphorical sense and use the language of poetry to create visual performances. Given that our whole life is based on movement and motion, I create performative statements that speak to the coexistence of movement and its end. A stone gathers moss when it is not moving, when time can create its tracks and change its identity. The stone as a metaphor for human life is mainly presented in the performances through the form of the chair.

For this action, I am sitting on a swing covered with eight wooden chairs. When the audience enters the space, they see this swinging “chair-sculpture.” I release black water marbles out of a bag, which then cover the whole floor. While swinging, I free myself from the chairs, which fall down to the ground. The audience can now see that I have a white shirt and a fish bound around my neck as a tie. I jump from the swing and place the chairs in a line and, while waving a red scarf, walk over the chair backs, making them fall. I unbind my fish-tie and place the fish on the floor and smash it with a stone.