MIGHTIEST OF ALL THAT THE WORLD HAS YET OWNED
immersive shadow puppet theatre
at Art in Wanderland as Cultural Partner
Curated by Bernard Leibov and Kóan Jeff Baysa
photo of perf. by Pier Fichefeux: @fichefeux
photo of Bernard Leibov by Eva Soltes: @#evasoltes
video by T: @dapperdates246
performances occurred in front of, behind, all around projections of the following collaged videos...
Scene 1: Firepit
Scene 2: There's Going to be a Fight!
Scene 3: Meditative Skuttlefish
Scene 4: Tap Circus of the Phoenix
Scene 5: Sisters
[from our original proposal...]
Aaron and Casey Sheppard, propose to contribute to The Joshua Treenial by providing an immersive, ephemeral experience incorporating shadows, puppetry and performance around the fire.
2023’s boundary-breaking theme - Aterritorial - conjures many interpretations in-sync with previous years of personal engagement and research concerning the notion. Specific to this proposal, a performance involving shadow puppets, costume, projections and sound/music would stem from the following concepts:
-Zarathustra’s shadow (liberation and confinement) with reference to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
-Jacques Ranciére’s emancipations of spectator relating to theatre and performance
-Tom Lee’s puppetry combining contemporary media with traditional story-telling spanning shadow play in Indonesia, China, India, Japan, and the Middle East
-Lotte Reiniger’s innovative use of the first form of multiplane camera
-Leigh Bowery’s full-body costuming for redefining gender and identity
-cut-up découpé method of writing made famous by Dada, Brion Gysin, William S. Burroughs, David Bowie, including levels of transformative art by Laurie Anderson…
-Casey has been studying closely with Zhenevere Sophia Dao (Santa Fe, NM) concerning Taoist philosophy and practice to redefine gender expansion and media inclusion
-Noah Purifoy and Cathy Allen have been influential to each of us by way of their practices involving the local desert
-various scientific theories/discoveries blurring lines between reality and consciousness, thus also between various theologies/spiritual practices and quantum calculating between particles, particles and observer
-results emanating from both ignoring and setting healthy psychological boundaries in relationships
Utilizing the traditional home’s traditional fireplace at Art in Wanderland, along with the use of screens and projectors, we propose to establish and then break through lines differentiating between physical and experiential constructs/conditions, i.e., exiling/condemning 3-dimensional bodies and form into 2-dimensional objects in order to relay 4-dimensional segments of non-linear narration within a 4th wall breakthrough of space by interacting and involving observers.
The narrative content of this experiment is expected to encompass layers of personal experience, myth, ritual, politic new and old… notions of transcendentalism and transgression, generally speaking.