Digging
2014
Washington, DC
collaborative site-responsive performance
In collaboration with Nora Naranjo Morse and Eliza Naranjo Morse, three women arrived in the southwest Waterfront community in Washington, DC to dig for 32 days. Participants wore costumes representing different aspects of American culture such as the service industry, business class, and farmers. Using hand tools, dirt was accumulated into mounds.
The goal was to become immersed in the neighborhood as guests, artists and workers and to stimulate a dialogue with locals. Unearthing the ground can be understood as a harbinger of "progress" but what if there is no end product? An archive of people and stories accumulated alongside the earthen mounds. The performers dug, piled, moved, re-leveled the earth, as a kind of ephemeral development. Throughout the 32 days of Digging, the group encountered interest and appreciation for their curiosity to "dig deeper" into the neighborhood's story.
Digging was presented as part of the exhibition 5 x 5 Nonuments, curated by Lance Fung. Stories from the project were archived in an exhibition catalog.
