Final Major Project, Collaboration Project

In addition to my individual project explained in the post above, I am doing a collaboration with Betty Sfyri on a performance where we create one visual piece by combining two different ideas, exploring the nature of artistic collaboration between performers. Each one of us has her own concept.(link to the blog post by Betty Sfyri on our collaboration piece)The basis of this performance is the theme of Love and CannibalismThis organic way of possessing someone, eating your lover is the greater symbol of jealousy as a variable of the ideal of Love. This is a model of a human relationship where one partner consumes the other both mentally and physically. I started exploring this by looking at cannibalism in nature.Post Coital Cannibalism is a behaviour seen in Mantis and spiders.However I decided to focus visually on the Mantis as it references the human form more directly than the spider.

Video of Mantis cannibalismpress for videosnapshot from video
The reason I am interested in that aspect of the mantis is to make the viewer connect to the performance references and symbols easier.I will make costumes that compliment the performance contextually and conceptually. These will be worn against a very minimal background combining the aesthetic of clean architectural space within which a more organic visual is presented. 
                                          

Mantis body part
After studying the Mantis form closer I decided which aspect I want to keep in my costumes. Stiffness, fragility, delicacy and that armour like exterior. I will use rice paper lightly shaded with watercolor to resemble the patterns on the mantis. The costumes will be torn during the performance by each one, following a pattern of deconstruction that is the basis of this performance as it deconstructs human relationships and in the end the human nature.   
Stage design for the performance

The performance will begin with another element of deconstruction, a web that we will have between our teeth making a connection at the basis of our heads using the teeth as a meeting point. After this bond is revealed to the viewer we cut it and the performance becomes active.This visual is to present both a more raw aesthetic to the cannibalism idea and also to act as a symbol.Teeth symbolise both fight and nourishment as they are a tool used with our oral muscles to show aggression and threat( attacking, biting ) as well as affection and healing ( kissing, transporting food to another ones mouth). We will explore teeth more as the performance progresses and then we come to the second and main part.We then start interacting with each other in what we picture as a fight scene, biting each other.Posing a comparison of bites and love bites. two completely different actions in terms of motives but synonymous and here even tautonymous.Also I will incorporate mythical characters such as Kronos in exploring the idea thematology of Love and Cannibalism. As well as Algernon Swinburnes poem "The Leper" where he is said to compose a necrophilic peace of work."Her worn-off eyelids madden meThat were shot through with purpleonce"
This is part of the said poem that I will experiement on the performance visually.
Illustration of the poems descriptive visual
As for Cronos I am going to draw contextual aspects by a previous project that I did independently titled "Rea" (the wife of Kronos), in this project I re-wrote Kronos myth, changing the reasons of Kronos cannibalism to overwhelming love for his children and his wife, making Kronos a more aimiable character, posing the question of to what extend are actions driven by passion justifyable?
    Costume for "Rea"The second body place connection point is at the level of our left and right hands accordingly. This will be done with a rope tied to the floor with a hook and then tied the two ends of the rope with our hands.As shown on the picture above.Givings us mobility to perform but also constraining us.When the last bond breaks the performance reaches an end. This will be done when one of us manages to reach one of the two knifes hanging on the each ones opposite wall.


Betty Sfyri blog
elissavetsfyri.tumblr.com
Bibliography
Links;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hGuallLPcM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imOTCERhLp0
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-leper/