top of page

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act 1

synthesized sweat, aluminum (alloy 6061), microcrystalline wax, 62h sound recording, et al.; performance

March 18th   April 16th, 2023

California Institute of the Arts, Santa Clarita, CA

To Kiss on a Battlefield is a project revolving on the creation and iteration of a ground of formal abandonment.

"How can something be made (or make itself) while unclaiming capture? How can something, rather than formally assuming some type of relation-ship to its own idea, radically unclaim that connection, working solely as a sacrificial, oblique return system to the very pulse of that idea, in the constant hope to live a life that isn’t death; how can something be a bankside, to a river/field that is continuous, and continuously opening?"
[note to Self, March 14th, 2023]

 

Beginning and grounding through such paradoxical questioning, To Kiss developed as a material, performative, and theoretical methodology of besideness and continuity. One that has found and entrusted its backbone in-to an open material, a fluid medium, the spread: a process and a DIY custom-made semi-liquid solution composed in measured and unmeasured proportions of the chemical components of human sweat, heavily unbalanced in its sodium percentage, crystallizing as it dries, an odorous, reversible slurry, covering surfaces and crevices, turning them into a ground on and from which capture, hold, and release can coexist in a continuous gait.   

The exhibition and the aftermath of Act I, accompanied by a quasi-aphoristic essai (attempt) in 23 points and modeling notions of Beside Representation, Chunk, and material openness, critique through exposure the contemporary normalcy of embattlement, acknowledging, exposing and relegating trauma (wound) as paradigm so to informally imagine kissing as its inverse.

This page, in combination with the publication to kiss on a battlefield / act 1 / texts, is an attempt to mediate a project whose nature is deeply, irreducibly experiential.
 

performances in Act 1 by kayla dobbs, aviana glover, clemente ciarrocca

documentation of Act 1 by yun gi ahn, zoe moon, logan wolfe, clemente ciarrocca

To Kiss on the Battlefield, Act 1 came to life thanks to the invaluable contributions, support, love and friendship of many, including yun gi ahn, erick benitez, ben borden, alexandria carrion, kayla dobbs, gloria galvez, boz deseo garden, aviana glover, michael ned holte, ak jenkins, chris johst, herry kim, steven lam, wes larios, dhyandra lawson, nick lee, kai-luen liang, francesca loffreda, lena martin, poodle moran, mpa, isabel riedling, naomi sam, julie tolentino, logan wolfe

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, perfomance still, with performer Kayla Dobbs, no-flash documentation by Logan Wolfe

DSC_6769_edited.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation view, no-flash documentation by Zoe Moon

covering the floor:

The Spread, 2023; synthesised sweat (full composition available in to kiss on a battlefiedl / act 1 / texts)

Screen Shot 2023-04-19 at 04.29.10.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, perfomance still, with performer Kayla Dobbs, no-flash documentation by Logan Wolfe

covering the floor:

The Spread, 2023; synthesised sweat (full composition reported in to kiss on a battlefiedl / act 1 / texts)

in the background:
Chunks, 2023, microcrystalline wax; 43x28x20cm

The Sun, 2023, aluminum, low-light led panel, polymer filter, wax, cellulose; 18x8x45cm

Screen Shot 2023-04-19 at 02.02.29.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, perfomance still, with performer Kayla Dobbs, no-flash documentation by Logan Wolfe

covering the floor:

The Spread, 2023; synthesised sweat (full composition reported in to kiss on a battlefiedl / act 1 / texts)
leftside:
Chunks (detail), 2023, microcrystalline wax; 43x28x20cm

to-kiss_film-doc_20230416_005 KISS copy edited.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, perfomance still (the kiss), with performers Kayla Dobbs and Aviana Glover, no-flash documentation by Logan Wolfe

Screen Shot 2023-04-19 at 02.05.jpeg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, perfomance still (the third), with performer Clemente Ciarrocca, no-flash documentation by Logan Wolfe

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG358_edited.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation view, flash documentation

covering the floor:
The Spread, 2023; synthesised sweat (full composition reported in
to kiss on a battlefiedl / act 1 / texts)

in the foreground, from left to right:

You are in the minefield again. / Someone who is dead now whispers to you: / this is where you can learn to dance., 2023; cnc-engraved aluminum plate; 76x38cm

Where does the difference between rise increase growth and invasion lie / Only where it spread are you able to walk, 2023; cnc-engraved aluminum plate; 76x121cm

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG90.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, flash documentation

The Spread, 2023; synthesised sweat (full composition reported in to kiss on a battlefiedl / act 1 / texts)

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG188.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, no-flash documentation

Chunk (Heart), 2023; aluminum; 9.7x11.4cm (diametrical measurements)

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG401.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, flash documentation

Chunk (Heart), 2023; aluminum; 9.7x11.4cm (diametrical measurements)

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG312.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, no-flash documentation

My love / Are you listening / You are my community / Do you want / Me    to love     /     to kill me, 2023; cnc-engraved aluminum plate; 110x128cm

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG123.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, flash documentation

in             this / world       can / radical     be / soft, 2023; cnc-engraved aluminum plate; 128x128cm

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG248 20.06.30.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, no-flash documentation

left hand-side:

Chunk (Child), 2023, polylactic acid print; 22x22x40cm (diametral measurements); designed in collaboration with Herry Kim

right hand-side:

The Sun, 2023, aluminum, low-light led panel, polymer filter, wax, cellulose; 18x8x45cm

Chunks, 2023, microcrystalline wax; 43x28x20cm
 

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG160.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, flash documentation

Chunk (Child), 2023, polylactic acid print; 22x22x40cm (diametral measurements); designed in collaboration with Herry Kim

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG207.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation view, flash documentation

covering the floor:
The Spread, 2023; synthesised sweat (full composition reported in
to kiss on a battlefiedl / act 1 / texts)

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG314.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, no-flash documentation

Untitled (Attempt), 2023, aluminum plate; 128x128cm
 

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG72.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, flash documentation

Where does the difference between rise increase growth and invasion lie / Only where it spread are you able to walk, 2023; cnc-engraved aluminum plate; 76x121cm

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG310.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, no-flash documentation

in             this / world       can / radical     be / soft, 2023; cnc-engraved aluminum plate; 128x128cm

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG139.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, flash documentation

Untitled (Attempt), 2023, aluminum plate; 128x128cm
 

to-kiss_CANON7D_IMG104.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, installation detail, flash documentation

Untitled (Clearing), 2023, aluminum plaque; 18x24x4cm
 

_DSC1452_1E3.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, opening, flash documentation by Yun Gi Ahn
 

_DSC1546_1.JPG

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, performance still, with performer Clemente Ciarrocca, flash documentation by Yun Gi Ahn
 

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, performance still, with performer Aviana Glover, flash documentation by Yun Gi Ahn
 

_DSC1499_1_edited.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, performance still, with performer Clemente Ciarrocca, flash documentation by Yun Gi Ahn
 

_DSC1510_1E_edited.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, performance still, with performer Aviana Glover, flash documentation by Yun Gi Ahn

middle-right:
Untitled (Breathing), 2023, 62h sound recording, black poplar speaker, cnc-engraved aluminum plate, 27x71x90cm

_DSC1561_1_edited.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, performance still, with performer Kayla Dobbs, flash documentation by Yun Gi Ahn
 

_DSC1570_1_edited.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, performance still, with performer Kayla Dobbs, flash documentation by Yun Gi Ahn
 

_DSC1575_1E.jpg

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I, 2023, performance still, with performers Clemente Ciarrocca and Aviana Glover, flash documentation by Yun Gi Ahn
 

To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act I: Teaser (in aftermath), 2023; hd video; 3m22

with Aviana Glover and Kayla Dobbs

essay
in the atmoshper_63_10020230409_0002.jpg


scans of in  the atmosphere  remains (an essay/attempt in 23 points), 2023; inkjet on paper; edition of 100, 63/100

Companion text to To Kiss on a Battlefield, Act 1, offered in editioned copies at the opening of the project on March 23rd, 2023 

hands_export1__1.6.4.jpg
hands_export1__1.6_edited.jpg
hands_export1__1.6.6.jpg
hands_export1__1.6_edited.jpg
IMG_7777_edited.jpg
IMG_7750.jpg
bottom of page