“Fluting” as a term of reference has many definitions. It can refer to a process of differential erosion in which an exposed coarse-grained rock develops a corrugated surface of small-scale ridges and depressions. It can also denote an action made by a fluter as she sweeps her fingers across a soft surface.

Here in the performance “Fluting,” one sees, paused in still photo, the enactment of a (repeated) tracing of the inside walls and windows of a living place, a one-room apartment, over a year of pandemic lockdown. The woman, alone in isolation, records her presence daily. Her ability to cope becomes eroded as indentations are left imprinted not only on the space but in her psyche.

We reworked the performance adding visual and audio layers as the performance was moved into video for pandemic online presentation. The tracing hand in the performance-to-video is now overlaid with images of lockdown signage and the movement of the hand is plaintively accompanied by an original musical score on the violoncello. We re-titled the enriched and now collective digital work as “Fluting in Isolation: The COVID-19 Anxiety Project.”