Cat's Cradle

'Cat's cradle' is a performative work about releasing and addressing trauma as a result of grief and loss. A mourning of our earlier selves due to life altering experiences.

The work was initially dreamt by Olivia after connecting with Carrie through a group show. She realised that they had both been living in the same city years before and that their partners had worked together at that time. 

Both artists were going through traumatic life events which has informed their practise ever since. This duality of trauma and space gave birth to the dream which they then worked on together to create in reality. The two participants are bound and connected by their past lives with intersecting relationships, friendships, locations, work and life changing events.

The performance was initially staged by the sea in August 2024 on a deserted beach in Hove. The connection to the sea was important as the participants reflected each other’s moves, while cleansing their faces in the water. Salt has often been used in rituals to cleanse a person of negative energy, even ward off evil spirits and form a protective barrier. The participants were barefoot so a connection to water was directly maintained and wore old shirts reminiscent of institutions and old school traditions, which reflected their joint past experiences.

Unlike the searing pain of trauma, this performance is a gentle, nurturing and meditative winding/unwinding of traphilo thread to make lines and shapes on the bodies of the participants .This in turn creates a compelling space between them, an entangled cradled drawing hanging in the air. 

This could represent many things; the passage of time, streams of consciousness, bandages to heal wounds or lines of intent for future thinking. Drawing as a performative act of care is both transformational and validating of their experiences. A powerful and mindful somatic declaration.

The performance ended with the participants releasing the ‘cradle’ into the sea and slowly pulling it up the beach.