SANDY ISLAND
Reading performance
Effervescent sculptures, PET sheet, water
In an evocative performance held at ACT GENÈVE 2018, the
elusive nature of Sandy Island—a charted yet nonexistent
location—is explored through poetry and visual symbolism. The
setup includes a sculptural element: a plastic bowl shaped like
a landform, filled with water. During the reading, an effervescent
cast of the performer’s face is placed into the water, visually and
symbolically dissolving, much like the phantom island itself.
The performance features a meditative poem that contemplates
the transient and spectral presence of Sandy Island, reflecting
on its appearance and disappearance in the tides of digital and
cartographic errors. The rhythmic, repetitive phrases of the poem
evoke the sound of water, a white noise backdrop to the island’s
storied existence. With terms like «Projection,» «Speculation,» and
repeated references to a «black stain on a blue background,» the
piece delves into themes of visibility, existence, and the spectral
anomalies of digital and geographic mapping.
This reading performance not only engages with the concept of
non-existent yet mapped locations but also invites the audience
to ponder the intersection of reality and fiction, and the ways
we perceive and document our world. The interaction of the
effervescent sculpture with the water serves as a potent metaphor
for the ephemeral and often illusory nature of human knowledge
and geographical claims.
