Full Circle
2024
By Zara Sands & Oliver Ventress
Event 10th of January, with continued exhibition running until the 14th of January 2024.
“Behaviours and physiology in many living, terrestrial beings appear to respond to the lunar cycle, or have a synchrony with moonlight. The moon and its phases have long been relied upon to gauge the passage of time and direction. To this date, scientific research has found no correlation between lunation and human biology, and it is thought that widespread and persistent beliefs about the influence of the moon may depend on illusory correlation – the perception of an association that does not in fact exist. The moon is a symbol for a constant: an unchanging present. We are left uncertain whether the mind and body gives it power, or whether it holds a power over us.
Working collaboratively for the first time, Zara Sands and Oliver Ventress present an exhibition responding to lunar rhythms, cyclical structures of time and space and the effects of this on the human body. The installation includes a durational performance by Sands, sound piece, projection and live feed video, alongside new visual work from Ventress.”
The exhibition at General Practice included a durational live performance with a sculpted prop, which was given for 2 hours on the opening night. There was a projection above the performance space of a moon rotating on its axis, and a CRT TV on the other side of the room displayed a live transmission of just the performance in the space below the projection. Three portable analogue TVs displayed a live transmission of just the projection.
Following the live performance, two new objects were brought out into the exhibition. One was a CRT TV looping a recording of the live transmission of the performance. Another was a small CRT TV placed in the performance space next to the remaining prop, which displayed text.
The TV’s text challenged the viewer to games and puzzles used to score my original performance - rolling and moving the prop beneath the projection of the rotating moon. Meanwhile the TV displaying a live transmission of the performance space opposite continued to do so, so that the participants response was played back at them.
I felt inspired by the moon as a symbol for the things that are constantly there, but that we don’t have enough proof to evidence their direct affect our minds and bodies. The experience of this, and how experience is observed and surveillanced by onlookers from different places and perspectives.
See the video below for a preview of the durational performance.
Full Circle was created during a research & development residency at General Practice, with mentoring from Saziso Phiri during.
Research & development was supported using public funding by Arts Council England. Special thanks to General Practice for their support.
