What does it mean to be intimate? It means to make the deepest, innermost parts of oneself known. With this in mind, which spaces allow for real intimacy? I struggle to be intimate both online and IRL.

In “[Insert Pasture Here],” I imagine a third space, a projected pasture (in part inspired by Microsoft XP’s universal desktop background Bliss) where I might go to graze on my emotions, feed my thoughts, and nourish my inner self while basking in a certain cozy, familiar bliss.

For this piece, I wrote down a series of actions and scripts (e.g. playing an electronic siren; singing a song; reading a poem, diary entry, or literary quotation; reciting a piece of life advice or inner anxiety; sharing the etymology behind key words) on index cards to be shuffled at the beginning of the performance by an audience member and then executed by the performer in a randomized order.

In the performance, I orchestrate a living yet scripted negotiation with intimacy within a predetermined pasture. Through a live, interactive performance mediated by chance, I seek small moments of intimacy and connection with the audience while exploring ideas of home, safety, and identity.

Video documentation: vimeo.com/193461780