Edelweiß

2013
Performance in Dresden (DE)

I stand at one end of the space in a small room. At the opposite end of the space there is a high wall with holes I have drilled into it. There are two bottles of beer at the top. As I stand motionless I am wearing a skirt and a cage over my head made of live flowers which block my view. I am holding two wooden pegs like bouquets. Slowly I begin to walk towards the opposing wall, trying to find the first hole where I must insert my peg in order to begin my ascent. I do this slowly with sensual deliberation. When I reach the summit I hang tightly onto one peg, take the bottle of beer on the right, and smash the cap off on the wall creating a spume of liquid from the aggressive treatment. I attempt to drink the beer. The same is repeated with the left bottle. I make my descent from the summit and return to the opposite end of the space, standing motionless for a short time, then move out of view from the audience.

One of the most famous stories about the edelweiss is of a young man risking his life climbing the steep rocky face of a mountain to gather edelweiss flowers for a woman as a demonstration of his love and bravery. In the 1861 novel ‘Edelweiss’, German author Berthold Auerbach exaggerated the difficulty of acquiring the flower, claiming: “The possession of one is proof of unusual daring.” This presentation was a reinterpretation of the story following an invitation to perform at F14 Gallery in Dresden, Germany.