My project-in-lieu-of-thesis stems from my interest in shared human experiences and the act of extending beyond the self to connect with another individual intimately.  My exhibition, ‘text and con-text,’ utilizes the exchange of language (spoken, written and body language) between individuals in an attempt to find sameness in otherness. French playwright and novelist Romain Rolland defines the “sensation of the ‘contact’ between ourselves and other beings,” as an ‘oceanic feeling’.  Text and con-text exhibits my attempts at this romantic interconnectedness and employs several strategies to transform instances of ‘I’ to ‘we.’   The five separate pieces in the exhibition visualize how language, both verbal and nonverbal, through repetition, imitation, choreography, and correction, are utilized to synchronize two individuals.  I focus on the complexities and difficulties of harmonization, as well as the successes, and I am exhibiting the results of both shared and unshared words and movements.

The interdisciplinary show consists of three video works, a series of seven corrected love letters, a photograph, a sculptural piece of furniture and interactive costumes all dealing specifically with issues of the rehearsal, and the written draft.  The works within the show use humor and failure as I frame both of these elements as “cultural technique[s] [and social strategies] toward an enlightened awareness that rehabilitates” .  The exhibition creates a dynamic dialogue amongst humor, failure and empathy- presenting a laughable vulnerability with which the viewer can identify. My project-in-lieu-of-thesis questions the possibilities of creating an ‘oceanic feeling’ through synchronized language and movement.  It examines the function of ‘missed marks,’ by using humor to find the value in mistakes and ultimately illuminates the significance of ‘rehearsal’ as an active component in human relationality and intimacy.