Standing with dried corn roses

2020 Performance
The performer stands upright in a darkened room, wearing black clothing and holding two dried reddish-brown corn roses together in front of their lower torso. Their arms remain close to the body, with one hand enclosing the stems, while their head is slightly lowered and their gaze directed downward. Warm light falls across their face, hands and upper body against the darker space behind them.
The performer stands upright in black clothing, holding two dried corn roses low in front of their body. Their head is turned toward a visitor standing close beside them, and their gaze is directed toward the visitor’s face. The visitor is seen in profile at the edge of the frame, with the two bodies facing one another at close distance.
Photography: 1 - Lorenza Cini, 2 - Fenia Kotsopoulou

“What if we perform a simple action for an extended period of time without interruption? How can the body sustain it when it is exhausted and in pain? What if I share only my being, showing almost nothing but my presence? Is it simply my vulnerability revealing itself; are these my wounds appearing through my presence?”
Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu

Standing with dried corn roses is a research into being in time and space through the body itself. For six hours, Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu stands in the middle of the room holding two dried corn roses. They rub the roses with their hands and against one another. Movement is restricted to their left arm and hand and to shifts in their gaze.

Holding the dried corn roses, Darıcıoğlu looks across the room, toward the Venetian sky through the windows, at the ceiling, and at the audience. They make eye contact, watch people passing through the space, observe how the room changes as people enter and leave, and watch their own shadow.

Close view of the performer’s hand holding two dried corn roses against their black clothing. Their fingers curl around the narrow stems and dried plant material, while the reddish-brown flower heads extend outward above the hand. The close framing shows the textures of the dried plant, the performer’s fingers and the points where the two roses touch.
Photography: Fenia Kotsopoulou
Full-body view of the performer standing alone in the room in black clothing, their feet close together and their arms held low in front of the body with the dried corn roses between their hands. Their torso is upright while their head turns to one side and their gaze extends across the room. The surrounding interior remains dim, with light falling across the performer’s face and upper body.
The performer stands holding the dried corn roses low in front of their body while a visitor kneels on the floor directly before them. The performer’s head and gaze are directed downward toward the visitor, whose back and raised head are visible in the foreground. The two bodies face one another at close distance and at markedly different heights, with other people visible farther into the room.
Wide view of the performance room with the performer standing near its illuminated centre, dressed in black and holding the dried corn roses in front of their body. Their figure appears small within the large interior, while visitors sit or remain along the darker edges of the room at a distance. Tall windows, pale walls and a broad open floor surround the performer.
Photography: Mauro Sambo
Presentations
Venice International Performance Art Week, curated by VestAndPage, Andrigo & Aliprandi, Marilyn Arsem, Palazzo Mora, Venice, IT, 2020
Credits
Standing with dried corn roses, by Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu, performance, 6 hours, 2020
Under the mentorship of Marilyn Arsem
Performance Tableau Vivant Research Exhaustion Research Long-durational
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