Scarification

Although some people may think that the art of scarification – whereby the skin is deliberately cut or peeled away to allow for a healed permanent image on the body – is relatively new. Western society has adopted this style as an extreme step up from tattoos and piercings which have taken common place amongst society over recent years. However, this art form dates back to a century previous and was celebrated most amongst the tribes of Africa, Ghana and The Congo.

Scarification was used as a way to autobiographically and ritualistically present the individuality of a person to another. This can range from puberty to marriage, hunting to war kills and even the attractiveness of a tribesperson. Women who had scarified their stomachs and breasts showed a willingness to bear children, proving their pain levels were high enough to encounter childbirth and its lasting effect on the body. Men would scar their arms, torso and faces to show masculinity and strength, many who became hunters or warriors would scar themselves after every kill, preserving their achievements to present to fellow males.

The art of creating these scars involved cutting the skin and forcing clay or ash into the wound which would create raised and defined marks once healed. Methods vary depending on the tribe, meaning scars also became a way of identifying a person to their habitat and region.

What interests me most is in the juxtaposition of these scars. Whereas Western society mostly choose to live lives without scars, the tribes folk of Africa use them as an achievement and celebration of a live well lived and assets attained through experience and rituals.

For more images, see http://www.ezakwantu.com/Gallery%20Scarification.htm

Kira O’Reilly

When beginning to discover the artistic world of scars, one woman appeared who has defined herself as a scarification artist and creator. Kira O’Reilly is a UK based performer who has been creating art installations using her own body as a canvas. Her show entitled ‘Bad Humour/affected’ from 1998 centres around self scarring through the use of leeches. Dressed only in a five foot long white skirt which covers the entire lower half of her body, she places herself in a gallery setting, kneeling on the floor and folding her body over exposing her back. She then has an assistant apply leeches to her bare skin, which then begin to suck at her blood until they release themselves, leaving bullet size holes which pour with blood and cover her skirt. This endurance piece deliberately evokes discomfort in her audience, who are drinking blood coloured red wine and visibly witness the artist bleed for up to four hours. In her own words, O’Reilly “invokes notions of trauma and stigma towards a “spoiling” or opening of the body suggesting otherness.”

In another show, ‘Succour’ from 2002 Kira sits alone and naked on a chair covered in a white sheet. She then begins to cover her legs and torso with masking tape creating a series of grids. She then makes a small incision with a scalpel into each of these grids and removes the tape to reveal a pattern of small cuts. This literal wounding is controlled and precise and shows strong imagery to those watching. It can be seen as a message or metaphor for disclosure and tenderness, or a comment on the fragility of the human body. What interest me most is how Kira choose to do this – scarring herself and physically bleeding for her audience to portray her own explorative views on scars and their meanings.

 

So, what next?

And just like that my immersive journey ends. Christmas and most of January passed by in an essay writing – researching – portfolio creating blur (plus a wonderful day eating nut roast in the North Wales countryside with my other half and his family) and now, already I find myself in February. As far as creativity goes, my collective efforts with Emily are continuing. Surprising for both of us, we seem to have a great working balance which proved successful in our previous endeavours. And why break up a good thing after all?

Two weeks ago, our second performance module began. We had already been discussing ideas and now those are finally in place. Our previous show Awaken focused on the mind, emotions and memories. Internalised and supressed secrets. Our roles as facilitators were something we found slightly disconnecting, despite believing so greatly in our project. And so our roles are now reversed. Our aims for the second show focus on audience participation once more, but through collected verbatim style research which will be used as direct stimulus for our performance. Our subject – scars. All of which have a story and none of which are ever the same. By collecting the stories of those scars, we aim to present them back to people in a performance which celebrates their uniqueness and beauty. Our own selves will be the centre of the show, with these scars drawn on ourselves, creating a map like image. No story is ever too boring and no scar is ever too negative. We intend to discover as many as we can and reawaken our audience to their own bodies and individuality. So, let the research begin.

Awaken Mission Statement.

Consider this a mission statement. What you have just been a part of is a project we have worked on extensively since late September. From then till now, it has been structured, moulded, reshaped and emptied. Slowly, it became the very thing you have just experienced.

We began with several aims – to entertain, enlighten, educate, illuminate and experience the world we live in through our own humanities. We aimed to show our audience that no human can ever be opposite, for we all share a soul, memories, heart, thoughts, mind, spirit and inner strength. We wanted to free you from your burdens using your human connections – your senses. We wanted the control not to lie with us, but with our audience. To let them change our own natural setting. This is something, of course, we hoped to have achieved.

As well as this, we also wish to share what it is we have learnt. From an academic perspective, your participation will allow us to grow as researchers, developers, performers, practitioners, curators and academics. From a more personal side, we have learnt not to be precious, to share our ideas and give them room to grow, to believe in our visions and place our hearts and energy into something in order to create beauty.

As immersive theatre is entirely based around those who take part – we would like to thank you for creating with us and sharing parts of your true selves.

 

So, how did it go?

Where on earth do I begin? Having neglected this blog since the end of November, I feel like I have to now re-enacted every tiny detail of the show which took over my life for three months.

Not long before the show, me and Emily sat down and attempted to name our creative child. Eventually, the project became known as ‘Awaken’, something we hoped to spiritually achieve for our audience. The entire show week was a blur of collage making, prop collecting, space designing and sound sourcing. The dress run took place two days before and definitely enlightened us to the strong areas we had accidentally neglected and the flaws of certain elements. We were incredibly lucky to have participants who were willing and open to give constructive feedback which helped immensely with the final show.

In the end, what we presented was a room of our own manipulative creation, free from distractions and focused on senses and emotions. The space was filled with atmospheric music and tables complete with props and objects which would evoke memories and emotional responses to our audience. As for our role, we were facilitators to begin with, guiding our audience through a blindfolding sensory experience in which they stepped barefoot on water, cold air, heat, sand, leaves and paper. We then placed ourselves in a cupboard, which acted like a confessional in which our audience would enter and tell us their secrets to a Dictaphone. Infra red cameras caught their faces and projected it on the floor of our main space for the others to see and grow ever more curious. Once recorded, these secrets were shared with the others who chose their importance. Small cards were hidden in the shoes of our participants, a small reminder of the journey they took part in.

Overall, it is hard to look back and judge the success of the show without knowing the feedback from those marking it. After all, it was an academic assessment, (eep!) However, in my head and my heart we achieved what we set out to. Each audience member responded uniquely and opened their minds to us. Together we collaborated and shared an experience which I will always hold as a strong creative achievement. My performance head tells me that it wasn’t the right path for me though. It was the first show I had ever performed where my adrenaline levels never peaked, I felt completely relaxed and in control, my heart beat never raised and my head was clear. It served as a reminder that performing is where my heart truly lies and although I allowed my audience into my world, next time I want to share it with them.