Swef, swef
A hunting call used to calm the hounds, in cries borrowed from the French: softly, gently.
bfa Capstone piece for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Spring 2022
Exerpt from thesis:
Swef, swef! explores pursuit through the immersive medium of underwater puppetry. The performance is inspired by the Arthurian legend of the Questing Beast — a story of an elusive and legendary creature chased by pursuers. The legend wrestles with the purpose of pursuit: is it in the capture, the chase itself, or found somewhere else entirely?
My overall practice is driven by the single concept of seeking. Whether I am drawing, building clay sculptures, shooting video, or creating puppet shows, I always begin with a dark base (like a black canvas, black polymer clay, a set with a dark background, etc.). Then I seek out the form, image, or world, carving it and calling it out from the darkness. It is like peering into the night, letting my eyes adjust, and illuminating whatever is hidden before me. It is a practice in Truth-seeking, in discovering both the terrifying and the beautiful.
Play is essential in this process of seeking. It gives the materials themselves a space to speak and influence the work. Once a puppet is made, I move it in the water to discover the nuances of the character. The discoveries that come from the flow of a fabric or how the light glints off of a submerged puppet are often more magical than what I initially imagine.
Underwater puppetry allows me to be the conduit of old stories and the breather of new life. Stories are vital to my creative practice and are the beginning place of any project. I am inspired by medieval and Arthurian legends, Biblical stories, ancient histories and myths, and mythopoeias. I believe in the power of story to preserve history and keep ancient ideas alive. Puppetry, with its roots spanning time, cultures, and traditions, does this especially well. Puppets combine Body (inanimate material) with Spirit/Breath (the movement brought about by the performer). This symbolic union of Body and Breath is one I am seeking to better understand as well as actively participate in. Underwater puppetry is a particularly unique medium because it helps convince of the puppets’ aliveness through its slowness of movement and ethereal otherworldliness.
This work is an exploration of belief, history, myth, pursuit, and presence. Every part of the work exists in an in-between world — somewhere between fiction, dreams, the spiritual world, the physical world that once was, and the physical world we now see. By playing within old and deep worlds of ancient history and imagination, I am becoming convinced that there is Something very alive and very real, Something new and yet old, Something familiar and yet completely unknown.
