On September 9, 2006 Illegal Art was chosen to participate in the Deitch Project’s Art Parade sponsored by Creative Time and Paper Magazine. A group of 18 dancers, dressed in black and each flanked by two large hand-held mirrors, created what we called The Reflective Serpent. The troupe moved together down West Broadway like a snake, meandering back and forth, from one side of the street to the other, folding back upon itself and straightening again to the beat of our composer Bruce Mack.
As The Reflective Serpent moved past the bystanders of the parade, the reflection in the mirrors created an expanded vista of the surrounding environment, exposed viewers own voyeuristic activities as well as that of others, and showed the hidden space between the mirrors as the snake folded back upon itself. From a distance, it looked like a moving sculpture of shimmering light, while up close, the mirrors satisfied the viewer’s desire to watch themselves and continuously changed what they were looking at.
Negative, positive, macro and micro, The Serpent invited and embraced those watching the parade from the sidelines by capturing their image and the reflections of the buildings, trees and sky surrounding them. Twisting, turning, shimmering and distorting The Serpent moved its way down the street as onlookers were treated to snapshot moments within an ever changing sculpture.
This project could not have been possible with the help of many individuals. Thank you to Cynthia Svigals and Peter Sciscioli for their movement consultation, Bruce Mack for composing the music (www.brucemack.com), Natasha Chetiyawardana.
We also want to thank the dancers, for without them, it would have impossible: Jenn Ward, Pia Richter, J’aime Cohen, Robby Fitzpatrick, Carlin Greenstein, Sarah Huck, Oona Ratcliffe, Bailey Anderson, Becka Pollack, Lindsey Brown, Jody Shipley, and Ferderico Bortoletto.
Hear the song composed by Bruce Mack
