Home in the Dark
About the Work
Home in the Dark, reveals all that has been found and all that has been left behind, Murphy’s maximalist approach exhibits a constantly reforming display of portraits, collage, poetry, dance, and live original music created in partnership with Steve Surgalski. The work is supported by the Painted Bride Art Center. Part gallery exhibit, part live performance, audiences can visit the Painted Bride September 18, 19, and 20th. Enjoy the installation ranging from tiny sketches on paper to large digital collages adorned with love notes from the guts before or after the 5 live performances which each run 60 min long. Audiences are welcome to contribute reflections or mementos to the already abundantly exposed artifacts of living at Home in the Dark. The event shares the overflow of practices that have developed since the stay at home order beginning in March of 2020. Murphy and her collaborators heavily rely on touch and deep felt listening in their research. During quarantine they did everything they could to feel connected to one another, creating multitudes of adjacent practices which resulted in a year long zine series titled “The Efforts of Moving Through Together.” Some of what is shared in the first three issues comes to life in new ways in the gallery, while other practices examining the porosity of time, place, and memory dilate the groups improvisational performance practice. The dance is bold, intimate, imaginative, and responsive to its environment. Light falls on sparkling entrails, exposing the insides. The feeling of home, love, and ecstasy seep through porous walls. The memory of touch, of holding and pushing floods over each performer and their sweat merges at the same rate that the past yields to the present.
Light falls on sparkling entrails. Insides exposed. We were here before, no? Maybe it is the feeling of home, love, and ecstasy seeping through porous walls. The memory of touch, of holding and pushing floods over us. Our sweat merges at the same rate that the past yields to the present. How did we sustain ourselves? Shannon Murphy and collaborators share a rich 4-year history of practice. Using a biomimetic framework, they activate the digestive system creating a model for sustainability and collaboration. The dances make visible the complex labor of togetherness. Revealing all that has been found and all that has been left behind, Shannon's maximalist approach exhibits a constantly reforming display of portraits, collage, poetry, dance, and music. Audiences are welcome to explore the installation before or after the live show (see unticketed hours) and contribute reflections or mementos to the already abundantly exposed artifacts of living at Home in the Dark.
