I Remains (2019)

Performance using thermal cameras and live projections. The spectators are invited to see beyond the surface of my body as I use my body heat, sweat, spit and even my veins as expressive materials.

The performance, just like in Under the Surface, is carried out in an open floor theatre space, where the audience is allowed to move freely around the room. The layout of the space is quite simple. On one side of the room there is a projection screen. On the opposite side, a chair next to a table where a container with water lies. In the middle of the room there is a black body bag. Above it, by the ceiling, a thermal camera hangs. Before the performance begins the spectators are told that they are free to walk around the room as they please. When they enter the room, there is a spotlight aimed at the bag and in the projection screen there is a black and white live feed of the thermal camera. As seconds pass by, the camera reveals the heat traces coming from inside the body bag. After a few minutes, the bag is slowly open from within revealing my presence, sweating and breathing heavily. Very slowly, I exit the bag like an insect exiting its cocoon, revealing my naked body. After this, I perform a series of slow movements on the floor. The spectators, thanks to the spotlight, can see each movement I do, and, thanks to the projection, they can see how my body paints the floor with heat, stacking the traces of each movement one over the other. After a few minutes, the movements speed up as I attempt several times to get on my feet. Once, I manage to do it, I look up at the camera and exit its visual field. I walk around the outside of it and spit within the camera’s sight-line. Spots of heat show up on the screen that slowly turn black as they cool down. I, then, hold the string that is holding the camera up, step back onto the camera’s visual frame and slowly let the camera drop down towards me. Once it reaches the floor, I release it from the string and record my face. This starts a sequence of close ups of my own body, showing inside my mouth, my skull and my chest, revealing the temperature of my bodily fluids and the heat coming from my veins. Next, I aim the thermal camera towards my feet. Slowly I start walking backwards, showing the traces my feet leave on the floor. I, then, aim the camera at the spectators. I approach them and touch a member of the audience showing the difference in heat compared to the traces I left on the room. This leads to a sequence where I film my hand entering the water. The spectators can see the difference between the image their eyes produce and the black substance the camera shows. Little by little, the camera also reveals how my heats abandons my body and mixes with the water. Next, I place the camera on a tripod and seat on the chair. I, then, use a sponge to pour water over my body. The projection shows how my body starts turning black due to the water. Finally, I invite an audience member to place their hand over my body. The final image shows how the spectator’s hand is imprinted on my body.