Day FOURTEEN - the end of the beginning

Wow! This was the last day of my residency and these weeks felt like they went by faster than the weather does on this island. And look at the picture! After a night of rain the hill presented herself to us as new. Imagine a boy with a brand new TOI, and you get a picture of how I felt inside.
Bas van Peijpe came to watch my first runthrough, to give some feedback cause until now, nobody but my lieftallige assistant knows what I'm doing in the sand.
Afterwards his first word was 'wow' so I guested that was a good sign. We talked it over and basically; the performance is ready. It's just going to be guessing how my audience will behave in terms of... how they want to move in the space, what are their urges and expectations. This is something you can not control that much so it's going to be exciting next week. Usually the audiences behaviour has a big influence on me and my work, because I want to move each other.

We also got a lot of details done today.. you won't directly think about it when you experience a performance (however minimalistic), but hiding flashy roadsigns, making businesscards from sandpaper (...), digging out dead foxes, and protecting a sand hill can be time consuming business. So again I want to thank Maité Guërin for her unconditional efforts (and I will)!

Okay, I need to keep it short cause tomorrow we have to carry out 100 stones again and for some reason, writing this blog always happens between 1.00 and 3.00 o' clock. That's why this is the last post; I want to put all my energy in the right direction now. To play four times a day that's not going to sit in your kouwe kleren. Still I promised a very short movie from all the 'pic's of the day' from the hill (the first picture of every post), to see the changes in the sand and weather. 

But that's for next week. 

For now I wish all the artists 

a big TOI TOI TOI 

and to everyone: lots of s/fun!

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Day THIRTEEN

RAIN. As I write. And that's fantastic news! It means that by tomorrow all the human terror tracks will possibly be erased. A nice clean and smooth sand hill to work on.. important, cause this early morning people and dogs again walked over the hill. Well, as from now we are armed with red/white coloured rope to put around it.. hell yeah!
Today I made some strong choices. The basics are standing now and I'm starting to feel this could become a very special 'FREEZE!' edition. Different things happen on this seemingly silent and peaceful location. For example, we smelled something funny close to our backstage. Now we discovered that something buried a fox, right next to our lunch spot! I still can't imagine what it was that put it in the ground, especially here on this island.. ideas anyone?

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O, and don't forget to comment down here :-)
Questions will be answered tomorrow!

Day TWELVE

Losing the key to the backstage when you have only four days until the premiere,
is not the thing to do. But I did. Searching for two hours in the sand, knowing that it's not going to give me the key back is not the thing to do, but I did. I can go on like this, and I will.

Again volunteers made the day. We were making a train of humans so that we could carry 100 stones up the hill. I can't imagine doing that ourselves, and we didn't. I wanted to sing like inmates do in films when they work on the (rail)road, cause that's what it felt like, I guess. But I didn't remember any prisoner songs from movies, so I couldn't.

While balancing all the stones I could balance in half an hour time I expected that more stones would fall.. but they didn't! And that is not good, not good at all. Because I want to be able to go on balancing for centuries on that sand hill (when wind would blow them over constantly), but now I was almost done and was able to shout "tadaaaaa!", which I could.. but I didn't, because I was not a happy camper.

And of course; when you least expect it at the end of the day, you find the key back. On the only place we didn't look consciously. What was that sentence again about 99% transpiration and 1% inspiration? I am really waiting for that 1%. I know I should force myself to get inspired by now, but maybe I have to sweat even a little more, (until the key just presents itself) so I don't.

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Day ELEVEN

I went crazy today. After noticing that someone else went crazy before me; a sign with "please don't disturb or enter this sand hill" was gone missing. Big footsteps replaced the sign and made their way towards the top, destroying the beautiful feminine shape of the mountain. On top, one foot stepped on a big mirror, which broke possibly at the same time. the footsteps changed into tracks of rolling stones and down the hill: stones that stopped rolling (imagine bringing up the stones every time, it's a good workout I tell you). The footsteps continued their way across the hill replacing natural shaped smoothness for human terror.

We tried to erase the tracks with brumes and stuff, impossible. It only got worse. So I decided to do the same as my more than unwelcome guest, but more extreme. Click on first picture to see what I mean (in the back at the right). Tomorrow I think we will walk together with four volunteers all over the place, to destroy all signs of beauty. The hill must become one 'thing' again. And this is the only way to do it cause I can't stop people and dogs all the time from doing what they are doing. It would be a waste of energy. Anyway I need my energy to try to 'control' the stones, cause they still have more to say then I do at this point, and at some point, that needs to be balanced as well.

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Day TEN

Today I made the sculptures as high as myself. It looks stunning when you look from down there, it seems as if they can fall any second, tumbling down the hill threatening your toes. The biggest problem I'm having now is timing. It takes much longer (about 7m) to make a sculpture my size with approximately 12 stones. That means I can only make three of those within the time limit of my audience (30m). Since I want it to become a ritualistic performance (see yesterday's post) there are some hard choices to make: Do I want it to become more beautiful with high sculptures, or do I want it more to be like a ritual when working with smaller statues (then I can build them faster making more of them)? And I have to remember: there is also the weather factor. Sometimes there is almost no wind and sometimes I have to work hard to even keep my own balance up there.

Some more stones fell from the hill making a nice track in the sand, but some of them stopped in the middle of the sand hill! If I would walk up there to take them back, I would leave marks that won't be straitened out by the wind in a few days. So I made a lasso rope to catch the stones, giving them a fast pull so they would continue making their track. Still there were two stones that I had to catch and pull from up there, leaving a rather strong track (click on 1st picture).

Maite Guerin arrived by boot today! She will help me on location for production but also with giving feedback. And boy I need her! Time flies when you're being obsessed by something and talking to myself is not really inspiring. 
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O, and don't forget to comment down here :-)
Questions will be answered tomorrow!

Day NINE

Forgot to make the daily picture. So I went back to the location to make this photo above. What a relieve, fulfilling my own expectations. Nobody cares if I would cheat, nobody would notice if I make two pictures tomorrow, or use an old one. Was it not that I really want this performance to be a ritualistic one, I might not take the extra effort.
Why must it be a ritual? It's theatre isn't it? Fake is totally okay, as long as we bite it... right?

People sometimes speak about thin lines: "there is a thin line between loving and hating my parents." For me there is a thin line between actions that (during a performance) feel realistic and necessary, and actions that feel theatrical and unnecessary. And if I imagine this line then it doesn't get thinner. Instead, it moves more towards the realistic side. Meaning that the unnecessary side gains more space, meaning that more and more things that I could do during a performance feel unnecessary, and therefor it seems harder and harder to find the things that really matter (to me).
To get to do the things I really want to do, I have to say no to 99% of the ideas that pop up in my head. So I kept balancing stones today. Apparently I was so busy with it.. I even forgot to make my daily picture. First I thought: hell no godverdomme nou moet ik terugfietsen. Now I'm thinking: well, at least it gave content to write my daily blog.

Unusual things today:
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I heard the sound of broken glass being collected, a very familiar sound. Then I saw a man on top of the hill picking up the pieces of a mirror that mystically broke. The man disappeared, leaving the trash in the sand. He didn't wave back.
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First time that a stone roll from the sand hill; it gave a beautiful pattern in the sand. To think that I am trying to protect the terrific organic feminine shapes of 'my' mountain.. insane.

 

Day EIGHT

Right now I feel like coming back from a day of working on the road (and I'm not making fun of road workers here, once I was one myself). As these stones are actually used to build walls and streets, I'm not surprising myself with these thoughts. 

Anyway, I did what I wrote at day seven; focus on one element. Stones. Back to the basics. It was frustrating and educational. Very good signs. The wind was even stronger than yesterday so it was a perfect try out. I really feel like doing this every day for a few hours, just to get used to the heavy duty, and also because then the performance would feel more natural, for me as well as for the audience.

I want to do my training in all possible weather conditions. This way there won't be too many (un)pleasant surprises, and I keep the doors open for any creative thought. Because for me, the good ideas only come when the basics are there. Then it's possible to get out of the box. Why would you want to think outside the box, when you don't even have a box?

So, no extra pictures, no funny video's today. Not even a picture showing how I turn my shoe upside down to let the Sahara dessert out? No. I need experience at this location. I need the boring. Not the clouds to open up dramatically. Not today at least.

Day SEVEN

 

Oerol. Openings day. Not for it's audience, but for the artists that just arrived by boot, and the employees. Raise the flag, drink the bubbles, get to work. Well, according to the big friendly moustached artistic director called Joop the work already started a year ago when the last edition was rounding up. With 900 volunteers to help run this festival they made a new meaningful record this year.

Joop

With a lot of wind it was a perfect day to try to balance seven stones on top of a 'high' wind loving sand hill. What is interesting about it, is that the wind is not constant. It changes direction, there are trees and dunes in the way and it comes with gusts. To take advantage of a difficult situation would not only be smart, but necessary. These conditions are perfect for adding a theatrical aspect to the scene. Because almost directly when in between the gusts there is an opening for balancing stones, there is the wind again taking them down.

Artists from 'atelier oerol'

raising flag

For now I feel forced to think upwards. Seven days to go before the premiere takes place. It seems like a very short time, so I have to keep the word 'simplifying' in the back of my mind. Not to make it easy for myself, but to release pressure by knowing that great things usually look simple. Although that basic rule might only work when there's a lot of research, and sweat, and tears behind an end result, still I can choose to do more research in less directions.. starting by tomorrow. Bottoms up!

Day SIX

What the hell was I thinking?!
150 stones? Today I carried a bunch of them up and down and up and down the sandy hills to experiment. It was fruitful but exhausting. Sand gets everywhere and it slows you down especially when you're going up. Yesterday I decided to not mess around with the sand anymore. After a good talk with one of the programmers of Oerol it was really clear to me I shouldn't bother, bringing big bulldozers to change the whole layout of this special location. I'm always saying one should use that what's around, but I almost forgot it myself.So, I started to look and listen again to what this place has to offer, well, this is one of the things that came out of it:

 Also I started again with placing mirrors, in rows, flat, in cubes...

I've seen some fantastic effects occur with the mirrors, but only with sunlight. Unfortunately, I have to consider all the possible weather conditions. Apparently they forecast rain for the whole next week! Not good, unless..
unless I find a way to deal with rain so that it could play an important roll during the performance. Now I hope it will rain soon to find some interesting possibilities, before my audience will see it as a negative influance. 

Day FIVE

I had nothing to do with this 'clock' that I found

Experimenting

Day FOUR

Today was a great day. Four enthusiastic volunteers helped me to move 150 stones to my location. I couldn't wait to start making my first sculpture on top of the sand hill with these new, square stones.

 These stones are used to build little walls right here on the island, locals will definitively recognise them. But, things like forgetting to close a gate at the west end of the island, sounds from my stomach and groceries delayed my urge. After a few hours I was able to get on with it. I was amazed by the different insides I got just from balancing 'perfectly' square rocks. The amazing thing about balancing builders is that I never stop learning. It's an ongoing proces that makes it more and more interesting. For example, today I had to use my whole body to keep the base stones standing in order to grab the last stone and counterbalance it with the rest.

check here the video of the first Oerol 2013 sculpture:

I was afraid that balancing at that height with an audience would look kind of... arrogant. But the effect of the high balancing stone in 3D was so impressive that I directly discarded that thought.
Being busy with my hands today directly made me feel better than the previous days. I felt very thank full towards the volunteers that actually helped me made my day.

Day THREE

Today I was really early at location. Pressure is on. Tomorrow an unknown man with a huge machine will ask me what I want to do with this place.
Every idea that popped in my mind about where to balance the stones, how to do it, what it should accomplish etc seemed to directly be attacked by it's impossibilities. The stones and mirrors that I want to use have to deal with the elements: Wind from different directions and different speeds. Sun, which is moving. Rain that affects the sandy surface drastically. Background colours that have to be in contrast with the stones to be able to see them well etcetera etcetera. It was like being in a conversation with myself that constantly ended in a fight.
I went to the harbor where all the different stones that i can choose from are laying. I came to the conclusion that there was only one kind that I want to use, for both carrying and balancing reasons these were the best candidates.

This day was just another confirmation that I can't work effectively starting with just thoughts. I have to work with my hands and slowly creating the right conditions for a new work.
So.. I canceled the appointment with the unknown man. Tomorrow first we get the stones. Then I can really start working and putting things in context.

Day TWO

I decided to make one photo every day from the sand hill. I want to see how much it changes when you don't touch it. When wind and animals do their thing. I will post the pic's and you can watch the total collection as a (very) short video some day during the festival.

Today already I noticed more things were happening at this very beautiful location than I was aware of yesterday. For example, apparently it is also a cuckoo's home. Lucky for me, cause I am known for 'loosing' time, especially when working in nature.

 Also I found some exciting new ideas, which probably are to pretentious to accomplish within two weeks. Nevertheless, they are like seeds in my brain now. Can't tell you what they are yet, cause every time I tell my ideas to someone I feel they loose power, and I loose my interest in them. Maybe because then I already shared it.

Monday very early in the morning they will come with a bulldozer. This machine is able to move more sand per minute then I can, obviously. But it's the first time I'm asking help from big mechanic machinery to do the work for me. Somehow it feels strange. Less strange is the 4 volunteers who will help me to move the basalt boulders from the coast to location. I cancelled the machines who were scheduled for helping me with that; when you can do it by hand, do it by hand. I will use the only proper stones you will find on this island. Yes they were imported some time ago, just like me.