Rough Count
by Deirdre Logue
March – June 2011
During the simple act of counting a bag of confetti – piece by piece – memory thresholds are found and failures amass. The performer begins each count where she left off last. Like pixilation, each individual dot is required to complete the picture. Each tiny piece must be located first in the hand, then between fingers, accounted for and then placed. But with memory maxing out, she is distracted, often fumbles, then forgets. She is disappointed in herself, becomes impatient, and anticipates the impending interruption, knowing that each inevitable failing will stop the clock. At Rough Count’s conceptual centre is anticipation and the accumulation of anxiety that results. In this emotional pile up, time spent is grieved with each lost number and the counting becomes a sight for the analysis of self-doubt where even before the point of completion, one starts to question the purpose of ones action.
