Friday, August 20, 2010

The Post-Mort


During my theatre years, 'post-mortem' referred to the critical examination made by the technical support team after a performance was struck. In this instance there is only myself to evaluate the relative success of the project - to deem if changes or improvements are required or whether the endeavour should be laid to rest.


For now the project will remain dormant (although posts will continue to sporadically surface on the blog site) and the only task remaining is to mention and thank many people for their very meaningful contributions. The list of people involved in one way or another is extensive so forgive me if I have overlooked you (my memory doesn't always operate at full capacity) but please, remind me of my oversight.


I want to give thanks to Daniel, Glenda, Beka, Janine and all of the staff at Profiles Gallery for providing much more than a venue in which to exhibit.


Thanks to Deanna, my friend and co-exhibitor. Let's do it again sometime!


Thank you to the community of art-goers who visited the show while it was up including my friends, family, and even the mayor of St. Albert.


I want to express gratitude to Dawn, Sharon, Rick, Brenda Kim, Marjan, and the many 'anonymous' people who sat with me during my twelve hours of silence to share stories, anecdotes, actual articles of clothing and just general musings - the blushing young woman with the backpack, the retired Canadian Forces officer, the lovely middle-aged woman in chartreuse, the PhD candidate from New Zealand researching oral storytelling traditions, the young Asian woman who shared her apron story, the Doukhobor woman who shared with me a part of her culture, the woman who fed me a fresh market berry, and the couple who stopped to reminisce about their elder mother...to name a few.


Special thanks to the people in my own corner of the world who contributed articles of clothing and stories so that I could hang it all out on a line for the rest of the world to see - Connie, Bob, Don, Carol, Larissa, Lori, Murray, Lorna, Don, Polly, Charity, Enerys, Christina and Dorothy.


To my young models, Brienne and Jessie - thank you!


And to Liz, my make-up artist (Aria Studios), and Rianna my hairdresser (Deor Hair Studio) thank you for helping me with the 'look'.


For Beth, Brenda Kim, Glenda, and Lisa, a very heartfelt thanks for your presence and participation in the workshop.


Thanks also to those who took time to write comments on the blog site - Ken, Natalie, Paula, Jan, Stephen, Joann, and Yan). Daniel perused the site frequently over the duration of the show and printed out the pages so that visitors to the gallery could also read them.


For a brief period of time we were all spun into this marvelously unique yet common thread. Thank you - everyone - for being part of the project and helping to create a space for storytelling to emerge.

After Hours


Masquerading as a normal person day after day is exhausting.


(Anonymous)