VERA RYKLOVA
©2021 Work-in-progress
the only real thing to do #1
the only real thing to do is an intended series of recorded performances.
This project questions the role of faith - challenged by my own, I mean to display the human struggle to achieve a state where need and desire are united. My plan is to produce seven video (self-)portraits on this theme, with the number seven referring to the Book of Genesis. My approach to the subject of faith, as a manifestation of one's belief, treats two different outlooks. One is concerned with religion and its practice - the faith is God. The other with psychology of human development - the faith is a process of one’s way of learning into and making sense of life, finding its purpose. Both attitudes may lead to one’s happiness and satisfaction - to a state of (self-)fulfilment. A state that has not only a great significance for an individual but it also has a significant social dimension. The other perspective I bring into the concept of this work are the different contexts of the word ‘faith’ used in language. One which refers to a strong belief in the doctrines of a religion. The other expresses a complete trust and confidence in that any aspiration can be materialised if one sustains the required effort and maintains a dedicated pursuit.
For the first piece in the series, titled the real thing to do #1, I performed in the back yard of a vacant farm cottage in the countryside near a small Irish town. Through the real experience of physical pain and discomfort, this piece depicts the (almost painful) course of maintaining hope - of attaining what has been longed for. The action here represents the process of striving, and the (artist’s) body is where the psychological drama takes place. The only real thing I can do is to accept the pain and bear the experience. The more I try to avoid it the further away I am from its ending.
After performing this piece, I have been mainly working on the sound composition, which was inspired by a Buddhist meditation. This piece is essentially a meditation on pain, not the one that is obvious (visible here).