Hyperfocused: A Performance Event, Performed at Claire Trevor School of the Arts Room 165, UCI, December 7, 2017.
Raincheck, ~5 min. performance, Umbrella, Lights, Sound. Performed at Hyperfocused, 2017
Highlighting mental illness with the sublime, Raincheck takes the storm within outside of the body. The sound of rain plays and intensifies into a storm as the artist begs the storm to go away by reciting a child’s nursery rhyme out loud repeatedly. The artist asks their storm if it will simply come back another day, and attempts to take shelter underneath an umbrella despite being unable to hold it steadily over their head or navigate in the dark. Finally, they can find shelter from the storm and find their own light. Overcoming the obstacle of one’s own brain and negativity can be tumultuous in nature, but they find a temporary shelter and peace.
Performer in Isabella Mendoza's A Twist on Painting.
Statement from Isabella Mendoza:
"A Twist on Painting, ~5 min. performance (malleable to accommodate any number of participants), acrylic paint, "Twister" board game, audience participants' voices. Performed at Hyperfocused, 2017
Participants instruct the Painter to make marks on the back of a "Twister" mat, using the classic rules of the famous American board game. When the spinner lands on a color and a body part, the Participant calls out the results of the spin for the painter to apply in acrylic (e.g. for "right hand red," the Painter will cover their right hand in red car ylic, then proceed to make the red mark on the mat anywhere they see fit). If the newer edition of twister is used, the new rules must also be followed and performed. For example, when the spinner lands on a "T" space, the Participant must read aloud an instruction of their choice from the back of the spinner in order for the Painter to perform in addition to their color + extremity mark (examples of "T" instructions include "scream for 10 seconds," "bark like a dog," etc.). Participants take turns spinning and instructing the Painter until all Participants have spun at least one time. The piece may be repeated as many times as the Painter and Participants would like to perform, or as time allows."
i am u: A Performance Event at UCI, Performed at Claire Trevor School of the Arts Room 165, UCI, June 7, 2018.
heart to heart, ~6 min. performance, String lights, Projection. Performed at i am u, 2018
This performance highlights the collusion between heart and mind. Represented by a string of lights, the performer painstakingly pulls their "heart" out of their mouth, reifying the intangible such as emotion and thoughts. The performer wraps themself in the light, attempting to keep it close, but wanders around the audience and offers their light to the onlookers in the dark. Projections on either side of the performer create a triptych-like image. One represents the warm heart, while the other represents the cold mind. By using light as the physical representation and pulling it outside of oneself, along with standing in the darkness between representations of heart and mind, the performer brings to question the idea of giving one's light away to another.
Firsts for Everything, ~4 min., performed at Claire Trevor School of the Arts Room 165, UCI, 2018.
Performed with Nina Yuu.
A joint performance in which performers interact with echoes of their past as animations on a projected screen.
