The title is borrowed from an Emily Dickinson poem, a series of metaphors describe an emptiness. The last stanza:
Erase the Root—no Tree—
Thee—then—no me—
The Heavens stripped—
Eternity's vast pocket, picked—
Erase the Root—no Tree—
Thee—then—no me—
The Heavens stripped—
Eternity's vast pocket, picked—
I became drawn to this poem during the summer when my dentist discovered a hollow space around the root of a tooth that had died after I fell down the stairs as an infant. This hidden emptiness—something I couldn’t feel or see myself—became an obsession. A root canal was necessary, and in the weeks leading up to it, I began to see this “dead tooth” and its void reflected in everything around me.
This performance became a vessel for my obsession, unfolding as an expanded cinema piece. It weaves together real-time visuals, a live camera exploring a vase inscribed with the word kiss, and snapshots capturing the process of my neighborhood’s sidewalks being redone. From my photo archive, images of lifeless objects from the resale shop, branded with hollow phrases, alongside the discovery of a printed picture of Frankenstein's monster, taped to the wall of the textile recycling truck that visits the shop weekly. These elements are interwoven with spoken language and a live sound score, crafted with a speaker used as an instrument for feedback, sonified objects, and the shimmering resonance of tinfoil. The evolving soundscape swells and shifts, carving out a shared space around the audience and performers.
This work has been presented at Elastic Arts, By Bye Pilsen, and Watershed Art and Ecology in the fall of 2024.
Made in collaboration with Steph Patsula.
