[-empyre-] Introduction

[hello at alanabartol.com]

Hello Everyone! I am delighted to join this discussion. Thank you Natasha for inviting me to participate. I am an interdisciplinary artist, working in performance, video, drawing, environmental art, installation and community-engaged art. My collaborative and individual works explore concepts of visibility and survival through our relationships with nature and each other. 
 
"Forms of Awareness: Ghillie Suit" is a series that reveals and examines the prevailing set of aesthetic and environmental concerns in North American culture. The ghillie suit is traditionally used by military snipers and hunters to camouflage the human body, allowing the wearer to blend into various natural landscapes. In this series, the suit is repositioned in the open air of suburban and urban spaces. Wearing the suit, I appear as Ghillie in transitional zones, naturalized areas and green spaces. The appearances or “un-camouflagings” are captured through photography and video.
 
I first learned about ghillie suits when I was living in Vermont and was introduced to the suit at a nearby military base. It wasn’t until I moved back to Windsor, Ontario, a city fraught with many environmental and socio-economic issues, that the character “Ghillie” evolved and I began making and wearing the suits. 
 
The suits are made of a combination of natural and synthetic materials, which are tied and woven into a netting base. I then weave dried weeds, grasses and other plants (found in the discarded yard waste), into the suit. In suburban neighbourhoods, Ghillie appears in transitional zones, 'naturalized' areas and green spaces. While Ghillie inspires many reactions including fear, confusion, anger and laughter, she often remains unnoticed. 

This work has also been developed in collaboration with others. Last year I worked in partnership with a group of teenagers to create their own ghillie suits and develop a site-specific performance in Guildwood Park (Toronto) for Restless Precinct, an exhibition and performance series. Jo also participated in the exhibition and I had the pleasure of encountering "Singing Plants Reconstruct Memory". It was one of the most memorable pieces from the exhibition and I wanted to share a short reflection on the experience: 
 
As my hands hovered above the plants, I was met with a chorus of chants, beats and pulsating rhythms. Another woman (who I did not know) stood next to me and we soon began a collaboration of sorts as we experimented with the movement of our hands in relation to the plants and sound. There is power and magic in technology...

Upon receiving the transmission, I felt immersed in and permeated by the sound. The sound was intense but I continued the playful collaboration with the stranger beside me. Reflecting back on it now, the experience created a bodily awareness that is often absent in my everyday encounters. 
Thank you Jo for creating such a moving and poignant work. I wonder how the installation for the Restless Precinct exhibition differed from other iterations of the piece? How did you feel about presenting the work in a park?

Thank you and I look forward to the ongoing discussion.



Alana

Works from the Ghillie Suit series can be found here: 
http://alanabartol.com/section/333127-Forms-of-Awareness-Ghillie-Suit-A-Series-of-Un-camouflagings.html
 
Video: http://alanabartol.com/artwork/3716498-Forms-of-Awareness-Ghillie-Suit-An-Un-camouflaging.html

Information about Restless Precinct can be found here: http://restlessprecinct.ca