By Coco Dolle
Upon entering the painterly world of Iris Scott, I was swiftly taken by the blues and the hues of her rich color palette, permeating all senses, gently diving into an oniric feeling of bliss. Her paintings convey a unique and compassionate feeling of transcendence, a ballad through enchanted forests populated with kindred spirit animals and mystical nature. All is loved and intentionally beautiful. All is adorned and willfully glorified.
Now is the time for the artist to embody those intentions through a performative practice, as she wishes to present her audience with an extended invitation into her other worlds. At the center of her performance features a customized gown constructed from her repurposed paintings. This conversation between different media will highlight Iris’ foray into wearable art as well as the powerful synergy between human rituals and the animal kingdom.
Building a movement vocabulary stems from a deep listening process. We watched some documentaries on the elaborate ingenuity of the Bowerbird, the star subject in Iris’ show. A sound piece is then created from these raw materials while we observe other traditions and references reminiscent in Japanese tea ceremonies and pagan gatherings such as the Celtic May Festival of Beltane.
A signature ritual emerges from our studies permeated with notions of fantasy and superhuman behaviors calling upon elements of respect, veneration, awe, and fear. This genuine gestural choreography accompanies the custom tall dress that Iris is wearing as the artist becomes a totemic transmitter of her own mystic fascination for animals and the unabashed beauty of nature.
Symbolically, this procession serves as a metaphoric rebirth of the artist’s transition, hereby inviting the audience to a happening derived directly from ancient folk traditions where one witnesses a rite of passage. The final performance becomes a cross-pollination of these cultural gatherings leading to an allegorical culmination embodied by the artist herself.
The performance “Ritual in pairing” is both an invitation to channel within ourselves and a reminder of what is possible when we reconnect collectively with our quest for mystical truths and identity.
Performance “Ritual in Pairing” IRIS SCOTT, at Flo Sofi Arts Gallery, Friday, May 17th, 6-9 PM.
Event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1312584115586133/
