Name: Jeremy Nelson and Luis Lara Malvacías/3RD CLASS CITIZEN.
Photo courtesy of Laura Fuchs.
Title of project and short description:
RELAY: The Movable Garden is a performance in motion that serves as a demonstration as well as a public protest. The project combines performance, choreography and an outdoor movable installation. This street gathering includes a movable garden carried up and down 14th street (from Avenue C all the way over to 8th Avenue) by 20 performers wearing mirrored costumes and various sources of light. On each plant, there is a sign explaining its country of origin.
Photo courtesy of Laura Fuchs.
How have you chosen to interpret the theme “SENSE?
In our interpretation of the theme “SENSE”, we decided to create a work that proposes a transpersonal experience that could trigger both individual and collective awareness thought situations that affect us all.
Why do you believe 14th Street is a compelling site for a creative response?
It is a busy street that presents an interesting challenge for any form of performance action. Many things are happening there at all times, and so getting the attention and interest of people passing by is a compelling incentive. 14th street offers a socio-economic snapshot of New York City, from the affluence of the Meat Packing district, through the more commercial and tourist driven Union Square area, to the modest streets of the East Village. This variety guarantees that there will be widely different reactions to the project along its route, which provides a really interesting inspiration and incentive to create a project that draws people in whatever their background.
Photo courtesy of Laura Fuchs.
What reactions are you hoping to draw from the public?
We don’t have specific expectations about how the public will react to the piece, but we hope that by using the spectacle of the visual elements (plants, lights, costumes, etc.) we could draw people’s attention into a project that can stimulate reflection about origin and extinctions.
