waiting I

2018 Performance

Wide view of a performer sitting cross-legged and bare-chested on a large white fabric spread over a dark, uneven floor. Rows of small lit candles surround the fabric, while piles of dried and wilting flowers and plant material lie near the performer. Several thin red strings extend diagonally from the performer’s upper body toward points above and outside the frame. Worn pale walls, dark doorways and heavy metal columns enclose the dim interior.

Wide view of the performer seated on the white fabric within rows of small burning candles. Their torso tilts to one side, head angled downward, as one hand reaches toward the fabric beside a pile of dried flowers. Thin red strings extend from points on the upper body at different angles. Bowls containing green plant material and other objects sit nearby on the fabric, with worn walls and a dark doorway behind.

High-angle view from behind the performer seated with one leg folded and the other extending across the white fabric. Their torso twists toward the extended leg and their head turns downward toward their hands. Several thin red strings run diagonally from points on the upper back and shoulders out of the frame. Dried flowers, a feather and a bowl filled with green plant material lie on the fabric, surrounded by rows of candlelight.

Close view of the performer’s bare upper body and raised hands. Several thin red strings cross the frame and connect to small needles visibly inserted at points on the chest, shoulder and upper arm. The performer turns their head to the side and looks downward toward their hands, with their fingers held close together as if handling a small object. Tattoos cover parts of the chest and arms, and candlelight is visible on the floor behind.

Rear wide view of the performer sitting cross-legged at the centre of the white fabric, facing a bright open doorway. Thin red strings extend from their upper body toward points above and to either side. Long rows of small lit candles trace the edges of the fabric and continue across the dark floor. Several people stand or sit in shadow near the doorway and along the wall, while worn masonry, metal columns and the opening frame the seated figure.

High-angle close view of the performer seated on the white fabric. Their head is turned to one side with eyes directed downward, and one arm rests across a bent leg. Several small needles are visibly inserted along the upper chest and shoulder, with thin red strings extending from them diagonally out of the frame. Tattoos cover parts of the chest and arms, while rows of candlelight glow on the dark floor behind.

Photography: Arzu Kiraner

waiting I marks the beginning of an ongoing performance series that investigates liminal states in which life continues biologically while becoming socially, politically, or emotionally suspended—a condition that Giorgio Agamben explores in Homo Sacer. Informed by the slaughterhouse history of Warehouse9, the performance connects the memory of the building with experiences of queerness, vulnerability, and exclusion. Through bodily restriction and duration, the work examines how violence and marginalization become inscribed onto the body and asks what forms of existence emerge in spaces of suspension.

The artist sits in the middle of the room on a fabric covered with dead and dying flowers. Fourteen needles are inserted into their body and attached to ropes hanging from the ceiling. Each time someone passes through the back door, the artist inserts another needle into their leg. Throughout the performance, they occasionally establish eye contact with the audience and slowly sway in small circles, allowing their body to move back and forth as much as the ropes and needles permit.

After two hours, the artist removes the thirty-three needles from their leg, inserts them into the fabric on which they have been sitting, and leaves the space.

Close view of the performer seated bare-chested with their head turned downward toward one arm. Several small needles are visibly inserted across the chest, shoulder and upper arm, with thin red strings attached to some of them and extending upward and outward beyond the frame. One hand is raised near the opposite forearm. Tattoos cover the chest and arms, and the white fabric and candlelit floor are visible behind.

Photography: Arzu Kiraner

Presentations

International Performance Art Festival, curated by Emma Møller, Gritt Uldall-Jessen and Jørgen Callesen, Warehouse9, Copenhagen, DK, 2018

Credits

waiting I, by Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu, performance, 2 hours, 2018

Acknowledgements: Arzu Kıraner, Emir Erkaya, Warehouse9 team

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