This is part of an assignment series for the course Eco-Performance Art taught by Turkish performance artist and environmental writer Ayça Ceylan hosted online by ECC-Performance Art.
We were tasked with finding an environmental issue that we are passionate about and make a performance using our body as a tool to create awareness about our particular issue. I live in north Texas and walk daily at Acton Nature Reserve which hosts a myriad of native plants and wildlife species. As in many parts of the world, the pollinators are endangered.
Dressed as a sunflower, I practice the pranayama technique of Bhramari (bee breath) to summon the pollinators. As a meditation practice, the buzzy bee breath technique serves to reduce tension and anxiety, as well as stimulates the throat chakra.
My intent is to generate calming vibrations to encourage happy pollination. The end clip is called the waggle dance. It is a dance that bees practice to communicate the location of food sources to other bee friends. I practice it here as a pollinator ally.
I often tell my students that I am willing to suffer for my art, but only a little bit. As I am allergic to bees, there was the very real possibility of being stung. However, I hoped that my calming buzzing would keep them away from me and put the attention on the REAL flowers.
Inspired by Dada, Fluxus and Theater of the Absurd, Colette Copeland is a interdisciplinary visual artist whose work examines issues surrounding gender, death and contemporary culture, including pressing environmental issues.
Over the past 31 years, Copeland’s work has been exhibited in 34 solo exhibitions and 156 group exhibitions/festivals spanning 35 countries. She received her BFA from Pratt Institute in New York and her MFA from Syracuse University. She teaches art and digital media at University of Texas.
