Lucia Cipriano

ten days of strikes - a gesture through Espace Deux
Montreal, Quebec
May 27 - June 8, 1999

Wider Circles is an extension of a performance/installation entitled ten days of strikes- a gesture through Espace Deux which took place at the School of Fine Arts of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts. Prompted by the air strikes in Kosovo, the area between two offices was symbolically occupied for ten days. While the daily office activity went on, the walls were struck with nails and circles cut out from appropriated media images were attached. At the closing reception, guests took down the work and for the last day the nail holes remained in silent witness. This project set aside time to consider global conflicts and attempted to create a relationship with people circulating through the gallery.

Wider Circles
London, Ontario
November 1, 1999

With the persistence of violence in the world and its immense impact on women, I propose a shared gesture. In a connective ritual, the circular shaped remnants (approximately 2000) from ten days of strikes will be passed between people. The matching photographic prints, from which the images were cut out, will remain in the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts' permanent collection.

This symbolic action will offer up a space for personal and communal mourning, for dialogue and reflection. The event will take place on November 1, commemorating the largest women's peace action of the twentieth century. In 1961, an estimated fifty thousand women in more than sixty cities walked out of their homes and jobs in protest against nuclear war. This demonstration was organised by a movement called Women Strike for Peace. Although the flood of media war images portray women as victims and dependants, women's efforts for social change and peace have been enormous. We can in our daily lives, through simple gestures, find ways of transformation.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

The Women & War Reader, edited by Lorentzen and Turpin, New York University Press, N.Y.,1998

In collaboration with Marylin Conklin, Mary Kavanagh, Larisa Macsween, Lynne Munro, Paolo Poletto, Christy Thompson, Maymee Ying Lum

biography:

Born and raised in Montreal. Lucia Cipriano spoke Portuguese at home, went to English schools and learned French while playing with neighbourhood friends. She has done Graduate Theatre Studies at the University of California-Irvine, and is presently doing a Masters Degree in Visual Arts at the University of Western Ontario. She has worked with children, teenagers, and the general public in Canada, Japan, and the United States. Her broad life experience has contributed to a collaborative working process.

ten days of strikes - a gesture through Espace Deux
was made possible by the Danny Taran Creative Photography Award

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		ten days of strikes - a gesture through Espace Deux Montreal, Quebec May 27 - June 8, 1999 Wider Circles is an extension of a performance/installation entitled ten days of strikes- a gesture through Espace Deux which took place at the School of Fine Arts of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts. Prompted by the air strikes in Kosovo, the area between two offices was symbolically occupied for ten days. While the daily office activity went on, the walls were struck with nails and circles cut out from appropriated media images were attached. At the closing reception, guests took down the work and for the last day the nail holes remained in silent witness. This project set aside time to consider global conflicts and attempted to create a relationship with people circulating through the gallery.
		Wider Circles London, Ontario November 1, 1999 With the persistence of violence in the world and its immense impact on women, I propose a shared gesture. In a connective ritual, the circular shaped remnants (approximately 2000) from ten days of strikes will be passed between people. The matching photographic prints, from which the images were cut out, will remain in the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts' permanent collection. This symbolic action will offer up a space for personal and communal mourning, for dialogue and reflection. The event will take place on November 1, commemorating the largest women's peace action of the twentieth century. In 1961, an estimated fifty thousand women in more than sixty cities walked out of their homes and jobs in protest against nuclear war. This demonstration was organised by a movement called Women Strike for Peace. Although the flood of media war images portray women as victims and dependants, women's efforts for social change and peace have been enormous. We can in our daily lives, through simple gestures, find ways of transformation. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead The Women & War Reader, edited by Lorentzen and Turpin, New York University Press, N.Y.,1998 In collaboration with Marylin Conklin, Mary Kavanagh, Larisa Macsween, Lynne Munro, Paolo Poletto, Christy Thompson, Maymee Ying Lum
		biography: Born and raised in Montreal. Lucia Cipriano spoke Portuguese at home, went to English schools and learned French while playing with neighbourhood friends. She has done Graduate Theatre Studies at the University of California-Irvine, and is presently doing a Masters Degree in Visual Arts at the University of Western Ontario. She has worked with children, teenagers, and the general public in Canada, Japan, and the United States. Her broad life experience has contributed to a collaborative working process. ten days of strikes - a gesture through Espace Deux was made possible by the Danny Taran Creative Photography Award



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Wider Circles > Satellite project

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