INNER SHELL
public interior - conversion to a performance art gallery
Everybody has an inner shell, emotions, secrets and vulnerability which you hide from others or even yourself. A key moment was in the design pre-course when we made sketches of a modern dance rehearsal in Bern to one of my favourite songs. Music and dance have always been my easiest access to art. It touched me so deep that my inner shell crumbled, it felt changed, I felt changed. That is art for me. It moves, can be very uncomfortable or very pleasing, sensual or emotionally charged. It can create tension or relaxation. It can provoke feelings, thoughts and most importantly it moves! In our society we must control our emotions and always be aware that our inner shell is hidden and protected. Most of the time its hidden behind our rational side. In the performance art gallery, the artist decides whether the church has an open or closed inner shell. Whether it opens or closes while the actors perform. The inner shell creates tension and it creates a distance to the existing room. In the inner shell there are white surfaces as projection space, as video is the primary medium which is used to document performance art. The room is lined with canvas, but the metal construction on the outside allows the artist to but different kinds of materials on the shell. It can be used for action painting for example. All the technology such as lights and sound are hidden and stored in the ceiling of the room/inner shell. In the inner shell you can feel your emotions and focus on them. It sparks curiosity: What happens in the inner shell or behind it? Where are the actors or performance artists? Where does the sound come from?