Introduction: The project delves into the interplay between stillness and transformation in the context of belonging. Rituals serve as a bridge to the past but can also mark a new beginning, a deliberate departure from the world around us. Through repetitive actions, we probe what endures, and how past experiences shape our present rituals. Rituals, as a grounding force, persist as a framework for embarking on new days despite the challenges that may arise. Throughout the semester this work explores the evolution of the ritual in one's life, as well as work put in repetition of a ritual to maintain a connection. The project focuses on capturing emotional states through the medium of body movement and film, supported and illustrated by data visualization techniques. The project examines the act of engaging with a moka pot - a symbolic moment of closure and commencement, signifying both the end of a familiar ritual and the start of a new day. As an object given by family when moving away, it symbolizes and becomes a link to what's familiar, through the the act of making, waiting, and observing, its product, smell… Used continuously revokes and keeps alive the connection and memory of places left behind. This process unravels the constants retained and the impact of this altered state on the ritual and its resonance within us. The project explores the passage of time, belonging coming through action, and the intricacy between the body and the outside world.
Research Methodology and Case Studies: Drawing on Viki Bell's notions of Performativity and Belonging, this project emphasizes that a sense of belonging is a continuous, actively cultivated act, rather than an inherent and unchanging trait. Adopting a self-reflective approach, this project employs my own body and movement as a case study.
Strategy for Multiples, Repetition, and Seriality: The project's core focus lies in investigating how rituals evolve in response to changing emotional states and how repeated actions resonate with the internal world, and changes in everyday life. Movement becomes a medium for expressing transformations. Video and film techniques are employed to depict the passage of time, highlighting shifts in emotional states. This exploration of time serves to balance what remains constant amid change.
Plan for Completion: I generated a notation system to document movement and states of being over time, thus encapsulating the essence of this transformative journey, over the semester.
Key References: Viki Bell's notions of Performativity and Belonging Franz Erhard Walther's use of the body Giorgia Lupi's use of postcards and calendars, as tools to document the passage of time,
