Wash Day

Wash is a performance about cleansing, ritual and intimacy. A full day at Gallery 1724 in Houston, Texas was devoted to the washing of hair including anointing with oils. There were twenty participants and numerous observers. It was a nicely paced day of washing and talking. During Wash, conversations included memories of September 11, 2001, memories of having their hair washed by their mothers, and the love and pampering of having their hair washed by someone else. We also discussed comparisons to foot washing and baptism, vulnerability, and the intimacy of touch, particularly to the head.

The performance was documented through photographs and sound.




Above photo courtesy of Dean Liscum and Sophie Simons.



Photos courtesy of: Heather Korb, Dean Liscum, Merilee Minshew, Sophie Simons, and Emily Sloan.

Floor before, with foils...
Floor after, foils with imprint from traffic...

Emily Sloan: Wash, one day only performance

Wash is a one day performance of the washing of hair. Wash will be performed by Emily Sloan and the participating audience. Recent performance work by Sloan includes Napping Affects Performance, an ongoing project including performances inspired by/while napping which launched at Art League Houston this past May 2010. Sloan also organized this summer's "Salon des Refusés", an exhibition of artworks rejected from Lawndale Art Center's "The BIG Show."

Wash will take place on Saturday, September 11, 2010 from 9am to 5pm at Gallery 1724, 1724 Bissonnet St. (between Dunlay and Woodhead), Houston, Texas, 77005.

“It is the ritual situation which makes the hair “powerful”, not the hair which makes the ritual powerful.” --E. R. Leach

This event is free and open to the public.

Napping Affects Performance at Little Woodrow's

Mari Omori and June Woest created a "Napping Affects Performance" sign on the 4200 block of Bellaire Boulevard in Houston, Texas.

Friday, August 27, from 5pm to 8pm, Napping Affects Performance administered naps next door at Little Woodrow's (4235 Bellaire Blvd., Houston, Texas 77025) from 5-8pm. There were many inquiries about the project and the time slots filled with five nappers napping from 15 minutes to an hour.