Stuck In a Web: Are You Home or Are You Trapped?
A critical review of olive theory’s digital performance of
“reach-close (2 home)” by Mikela Vuorensivu
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On February 13th, 2021, the interdisciplinary duo olive theory from Vancouver BC premiered reach-close (2 home). Premiered as a film on YouTube, the performance was a digitized remount of an originally live installation thanks to a grant from the Canada Council’s Digital Originals. The two members of olive theory, Shion Skye Carter and Stefan Nazarevich have extensive training in dance and music respectively. In this performance, however, they preferred not to work strictly within their studied disciplines but collaborated equally as musicians and movers to create this interdisciplinary project. Using a web-like string instrument of their own design, they weave, wonder and wrestle with the idea of being constricted to one space. Their intention for digitizing this previously live performance was to respond to social context, particularly the circumstances created by the Covid-19 pandemic. By choosing to adapt and embrace the restrictions that prevented a live performance, olive theory successfully captured the optimism, resilience, and grief that is so relevant and shared among artists globally during the pandemic. At home, in their web-like installation, olive theory reminds its audience that the spaces in which we live and create are multi-faceted; though a web is a home for the spider, it is a trap for the fly.
A key element of their performance is the string instrument that transforms their home space. The sculpture is comprised of huge piano strings, long enough to reach from wall to wall, never one string touching another. This unique installation finds its way into much of their research and performances as it is custom-made, making it foundational to their work. It is intended to be used to invite embodied movement and challenge the definition of what an instrument is. It is impossible to ignore its resemblance to a spider’s web, and the comfortable way the artists interact with the instrument only furthers that imagery and association. By mounting it in their home, they assume the role of the spider, but as the piece goes on it is evident that their efficacious relationship to their space and instrument evolves.
Behind the scenes of "reach-close (2 home)", credit to @olivetheoryprojects on Instagram
Home, to many, is the ultimate comfort zone. It is a safe space, a refuge in which one can recharge and rest. In nature, a spider’s web is their home, and it is a space they have created to serve them well. For this performance, olive theory invited its audience into their web, constructed in their own home. The film opened to a small but bright living area that acted as a neutral canvas, calm but inviting. Their instrument of piano strings ran from wall to wall, and a montage of closely framed shots showed the duo tenderly carrying out their domestic routines. Coffee was poured, a guitar was played, and plants sat on sunny shelves. A steady stream of popping, gritty sounds tickled the nape of the listener’s neck as the artists engaged with their space. As the frame panned out, the duo moved delicately together amongst the strings and using first a bow, and eventually their fingertips and even their hair, they delicately caressed and plucked the strings adding clear melodies to the soundscape. This intimate and gentle relationship that olive theory displayed toward their instrument is evidence that their web is part of a cherished space. In those moments, the space they occupied inspired them, and motivated curiosity and creation. This appreciative relationship to the home is not an experience exclusive to olive theory. During the Covid-19 pandemic, artists around the world have been forced to treat their homes as their creative space and take inspiration from their pedestrian routines. The home has been redefined as a multifunctional environment, and domestic life has inevitably been the source of inspiration for many pieces created this past year. It is no longer just a comfort zone to return to after a day of work, it is also the place where the work happens, a parallel to the multifunctionality of a spider’s web.
Stills from "reach-close (2 home)", credit to @olivetheoryprojects on Instagram
Though the web is home to the spider, to the fly, it is a trap. This duality is demonstrated in olive theory’s performance when the mood of the piece changed dramatically and suddenly. What started as peaceful and curious became unsettling and repetitive. The once-bright room was bathed in darkness, only visible by warped light coming from colourful, abstract projections cast upon the walls. The duo, who were only visible as silhouettes, took a new, frantic approach to playing the strings, and the sombre and mechanical soundscape built in intensity. It became clear that the relationship to their web had changed into something much less inviting. Their movements became jarring, repetitive, and heavy. They were no longer curious or inspired by the web but instead appeared disengaged as if stuck in it, trapped in their own comfort zone. It was still the same space, but their perspective towards it had shifted. This loss of enthusiasm and motivation is relatable for artists all over the globe trying to maintain a creative practise despite the restrictions brought on by Covid-19. What was once an inspiring routine became mindless repetitive rituals. There was originally a culture of optimism telling creators to embrace the situation, but it has dissipated into feelings of hopelessness and a shared craving for the freedom to explore and be inspired by new spaces. Artists who were once the spiders of their web have now become the flies, feeling stuck in a space of their own creation.
Home is not the only web that artists have been forced to rely on throughout the pandemic. The world wide web, a system named for its ability to search for and discover ideas on the internet, has been a lifeline of virtual connection throughout this past year. The possibilities for distributing, viewing, and streaming works are seemingly endless due to this web-like online network. A fascinating aspect of this reality is that audience members around the world can watch the same performances from totally different secondary spaces. The setting in which olive theory performed and filmed reach-close (2 home) is a primary space that remains unchanging. No matter when or where it is being streamed, the film is confined to a screen and the duo is confined to their home. I personally viewed their performance from my own home, where because of Covid-19 restrictions, I am also confined. While watching the performers in their domestic space surrounded by furniture and the comforts of home, I found myself as an audience member viewing from a similar secondary space. Despite being separated by time, location, and a screen my web was connected to theirs, and I resonated with the duo’s circumstances on an intimate level. olive theory’s decision to remount this performance virtually is a demonstration of the resilience of artists. Like a spider whose home has been destroyed and must create a new one, artists like olive theory took to the world wide web and made a new home for their work throughout Covid-19.
Stefan Nazarevich & Shion Skye Carter, credit to Brenda N. Kent
The feeling of being trapped in a familiar space has been a resounding theme for many during the Covid-19 lockdowns. As the pandemic stretches on, it is no wonder that artists are turning to the world wide web to keep their creativity alive. All over the globe, people have had to rely on their domestic spaces to fulfill their needs in more ways than usual. The home is more multifunctional than ever, and olive theory’s performance demonstrates that it is possible to find inspiration in even the most mundane daily tasks and transform them into something powerful. They explore their curiosity and perseverance to embrace the circumstances as well as their tiredness and longing for change. This duo effectively captures the whirlwind of emotions that so many artists are facing during this pandemic by using contrasting light and dark imagery reflected within the same space. The home is a refuge for creative expression, but what happens when the inspiration runs dry? reach-close (2 home) acknowledges the turbulence that the pandemic has brought and empathizes with its audience, leaving them reflecting on their own circumstances and relationship to the place they call home.
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