In “Diminish: Soap,” I lather two bars of lye soap against one another until they both dissipate under the constant pressure of my hand. My Sisyphean exertion renders an un-production, and I am only left with the ritualistic value of the act itself. A sense of chronological progression also collapses amidst the rhythmic repletion. In the absence of goal-oriented accomplishment, I am able to engage each passing moment and access the Present.

“Diminish: Soap” is part of “Simple Actions,” a series that explores the meditative possibilities of domestic labor. The work was performed at the Harris Building in Grand Rapids, MI. A former brewery, the building had been abandoned for years and is now undergoing renovation. Like many of the “Simple Actions” performances, “Diminish: Soap” takes place in an historic industrial site, a place of male-dominance in the global West. My bodily presence, and my reference to traditionally female roles, opens a dialogue that centers upon gender, history, location, and our common desires for what is unattainable and continually elusive.