20 minutes of water
Performance




Arthur (Canada)

Setting: A hot summer day, possessing a heat you cannot help but breathe in as you wander around a massive stone structure that is weighted with centuries of history: the monastery at Plasy, Czech Republic.

The monastery was erected in the 11th century by Cistercian monks whose philosophy was to build on unfarmable land. The monastery was therefore built on water. Long oak beams were sunk into a marsh and a massive stone structure was built on top of this framework.

An intricate system was created utilizing a naturally-flowing stream to keep the wood from rotting. It is an architectural feat hidden in the depths of the building. It is a kind of illusory, elusive, vulnerable stability, tons of static stone sitting on water, dependent on water for its existence.

The project involved taking visitors to the unknown and unvisited sections of the building . This was a way of sharing my own discovery not through a document, but through the staging of an experience. It resulted in a revelation of architecture as partially an organic structure, a living entity, an embodied history holding secrets.

The keystone of the building, situated at the mouth of the tunnel leading into the space where the piece takes place, reads (rough translation from Latin): "without water this edifice will be in ruins".

Scene: Interior, day, the two main levels of the monastery. Most of the renovations are nearly finished. Spacious but heavy, the freshly whitewashed walls cover the traces of its varied history. Artists are busy with installations which are part of the Hermit Residency Project. Tour guides lead visitors through a maze of medieval/baroque architecture, offering a memorized recital of recorded history. At times, groups pause to look over the balustrade, gazing down at one of two pools of water symmetrically situated at opposite ends of the building¹s interior, each pool reflecting the stairwell in an infinite depth. Through the small crowd walk two characters with thigh-high rubber fisherman¹s boots slung over their shoulders. Moving past the official tour, they descend the stairs to participate in the dungeon tour, "20 minutes of water".

Abandoning officially-sanctioned accounts, I and my tour guests inch down the stone stairwell to the reflecting pool. Each descent brings a noticeable drop in temperature. Breath condenses into low lying clouds which cling to the surface of the water in the pool. We do up our coats and slide on the boots, securing them through belt loops. Sliding down the clammy stone wall into the water, cautiously, uncertain of footing, one foot in front of the other, we find the bottom. Icy cold, watching yourself exhale as the boots tighten around your leg and cling to your skin.... Putting your trust in the other, the tour begins...

As with most performances after they have concluded their temporal manifestations, they cease to exist except as memories, thoughts and various forms of documentation. This project exists now in the form of photographic portraits and a video of interviews. The following quotes are excerpted from 17 tours from "20 minutes of water" (20 minutes was the average length of each tour):
"wow"
"It¹s so dark you can¹t see where you are going"
"the water is freezing cold, i can feel it through the boots as if I didn¹t have them on, they are forced to mold to calf and thigh by the pressure of water"
"the tunnel is so narrow"
"turn the flashlight off, I want to feel my way"
"I want to do this again so i can feel the sensation of the boots"
"I am scared"
"like it reveals the world of invisible basements of the human mind"
"I could sit here for hours"
"sound from the rest of the world comes in faint and filtered the further in we go"
"it must lead to somewhere else, this trap door must be rusted shut"
"look at the water condensed on the ceiling"
"oh, I feel like I¹m floating"
"ahhhhooooohlalalalaaaaaaaaa....these acoustics are phenomenal"
"looking back the entrance reflects itself in the water, it looms so bright like a full moon in the darkest heavens"
"the rhythm set up by the pace and sound of gliding through the water is so soothing, hypnotizing"
"this is sexy, I¹m getting so turned on!"
"I had no idea this was here"
"we are walking on the bones of the building"
"can you leave me here, i want to be here alone"