Sometimes I think, I can see you

I have now undertaken my first week in Mariano Pensotti’s installation piece Sometimes I think, I can see you as part of the PuSh Festival 2013. 

I am enjoying and appreciating this opportunity enormously. Physically, it can be a challenge, but reminds of gymnastics. More a lexicon gymnastics. So far I’ve only done in one of my knees. Mentally it’s invigorating. Socially energizing. And I love the interactions afterwards with the public and staff. I’ve learnt so much talking to the staff about their ongoing interactions and observations of the public within the space they work. On Saturday I had a good ole chat with three young folk who were part of a narrative on-and -off for the whole time I wrote that day. They were keen to explain their actual story, which was curiously close to what I’d invented.   

When you sit in public space and observe and record and fictionalize you also draw fleeting conclusions about where we live and speculate on how people may feel about it. They pass through one’s mind like a subway train. Sometimes they recycle themselves back into whatever replaces them. But some persist. I wonder if each week that we perform this project whether new conclusions or realizations will arrive. I wonder how the weather may influence this. Or exhaustion. Will immunity set in? On va voir. 

It’s quite strange for me to be Downtown. I only tend to frequent it in the quest for books, socks, films/talks, and popped rib relocation. Otherwise I mainly visit the Downtown Eastside where I like to admire the Army & Navy camping equipment or stare at peculiar items in restaurant supply shops in Chinatown. To make 5 journeys Downtown in 7 days is odd. I have had to reacclimatize somewhat to the rampant shopping culture. The other evening after the performance/installation I visited The Bay and stared at crockery and glasses perplexed that people really do shell out $49 for two of them. Of course a survey of the Dyson vacuum cleaners is compulsory. One happy addition to Downtown are the food carts. Very fun to sample them and chat with the chefs inside them. 

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Obviously the major news is: ice fog. We have had several episodes of it and I confirmed the definition of it on Twitter with the extraordinary seismologist and meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe. 

exactly! suspended tiny ice crystals in the air.. had it again this morning for a few hours

 

Follow @JWagstaffe on Twitter especially if there’s an earthquake. She was marvellous tweeting live at 1am during the recent Tsunami watch and warning. 

We have become an enclave for fog and it sits well with me. Fog-alicious Foggy town. Except it’s v hard to sleep when it is foggy, not because of the horns which I never hear but because it’s too comforting looking out there. 

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Continued thanks to Malarky readers for all the kind words popping up on social media about Malarky. Glad you have enjoyed Our Woman.