home | bodies, a Sanctuary at INSCAPE
Aaron Swartzman and Aiko Kinoshita. Photo credit Tim Summers.
Now through Saturday is your chance to catch the part performance, part installation home | bodies piece about the "rich and ordinary subject of home", presented by Aaron Swartzman and Aiko Kinoshita of UMAMI Performance. Wander the rooms of the installation while Swartzman and Kinoshita move through the scene in a dreamlike state, bodies breathing life into objects like hanging laundry and rows of water glasses. Hedging a bit, the focus then shifts into an animated performance theatre segment in the couple’s living room.
For these two artists (here with the collaboration of Amy Denio - sound; Amiya Brown - lighting; Kathryn Padberg - video; and Etta Lilienthal - sceneography), “home” is freshly pressed linen, the bath draining on a sleepy Sunday. It’s the snap of the toaster, curtains bumping in the breeze and (unintentionally) the Light Rail clanging outside. The work is meant to be an site-specific exploration of "home, relationship, and the body", but there's no dark or dreary subject matter here. As we spectators stare like lonely neighbors, we're left soothed and comforted by the presence of these themes in our collective lives.
The bones of this piece have been set since at least last June, when home | bodies premiered at the 2009 Northwest New Works festival. Swartzman and Kinoshita have been exploring this realm for four years with their finding home series. They can’t seem to get enough of it; it’s a favorite meal they make over and over. The love of the material is clear, and with home | bodies, already an evening-length piece, you sense that UMAMI could continue to muse on the topic of "home" without any shortage of new work.
When it comes to improvisation, Swartzman and Kinoshita have the maturity of a duo that has worked together for years. Watch the way they move; they finish the others' thoughts, the way a long-married couple can complete sentences. They relax into each other, pausing to watch the sky; then, springing apart, toy intently on, across, and around the other, until Swartzman flies, birdlike, into Kinoshita’s arms.
The home | bodies installation/performance takes place in the former INS Federal Building, located just shy of the south edge of the International District. In the spirit of the now-defunct arts collective in Capitol Hill’s OddFellows building, INSCAPE welcomes artists and artisans of all disciplines to make their home in the 77,000 square foot space. The space hopes to house creative expression including - but not limited to - performance art and theatre, music and dance, sculpture, painting and photography, architecture and design, digital media. For more information visit their website or contact Sam Farrazaino at (206) 890-3283.
August 10-14, 8 p.m. // INSCAPE (former INS Building), 815 Airport Way S // $12-25, tickets here.
