“Domopoetic Karstic-Actions” performances were presented on the occasion of our duo exhibition “Karstic Actions/Works” at Galerie Simoncini, Luxembourg, from June 4–July 15, 2021. The gallery’s three floors displayed recent works: paintings, videos, texts, and performance documentation. Like the exhibition, the performances focused on our Domopoetic Karstic processes. Domopoetics is the name we give our artistic and domestic activities as we have shared life and work and raised a family for over 33 years. Karstic refers to the geological phenomena of dissolution and transformation as applied to ecological and human matters. Our Domopoetic Karstic actions and works are “in/quest of” a dynamic equilibrium through ecological consciousness in the literal meaning of that term: greek οἶκος / oîkos/ house, household, dwelling and λόγος/lógos/discourse, thus the science of dwelling.

The Domopoetic Karstic-Actions finissage lasted 45 minutes at Galerie Simoncini on July 15, 2021. We began the action on the lower floor (called Sanctuary) inside a chasuble created with early 20th century family linen sheets echoing an installation presented on this level. Colin Toniello, set up on street level (called Shelter), improvised music on keyboards throughout the action. We climbed the stairs tethered back-to-back in the chasuble, reached “Shelter” level, and moving amidst the public and our various works, we improvised words triggered by situation and environment. We got closer to the gallery window overlooking the street; there we had delineated an area with white paper. Nicole shifted position inside the chasuble, and led the mythic creature shape toward individual bowls set up with eggs, pigments, charcoals, pastels, fresh cherries, bones, and water. A two-sided ladder-like scroll of printed texts, suspended in the window, was brought down and placed around Pierre’s neck. These texts were read and improvised from. Hand drum, hip bone deer whistle were used, and throughout Nicole marked/painted in various positions, but mostly with her feet, upside down, in hand stand, head stand, pastel held between her toes. A negative hand was imprinted on the chasuble by mouth spraying chewed charcoal.

Domopoetic Karstic-Actions is a sympoiesis (a “making with”) exploring proprioception (sense of body position) and kinesthesia (sense of body movement) through ecological consciousness as defined by biologist Ernst Haeckel : “the science of the relations of organisms with the surrounding world, that is to say, in a broad sense, the science of the conditions of existence.”