In Season

The habits of daily life take on an almost religious significance over time. These actions are undertaken for their material ends, but the means, the habitual processes, often leave a greater mark on the individual and community. Reflecting on such rituals, this piece involves three female performers washing and paring fresh strawberries together. The rhythmic movements and repetition, the berry stains left on aprons & tablecloth, the pared-away greenery of the fruit falling to the floor, and large mass of pared strawberries work as symbols of life, loss of life, and generous legacy offered in the aftermath. The ‘body’ of cut fruit mounded on the table takes on funerary and then, Eucharistic qualities as the performers fill jars with the berries and offer them to the audience.

This piece is inspired in part by the constancy and yield of my grandmother’s life and the daily & annual rituals that grounded her.

The performance took place in Santa Reparata International School of Art, Florence, Italy in 2017. Many thanks to Faith Klein and Shelby McMullen for their performance and support.