SELF-SOOTHER

at OK Corral.

Self-Soother reveals the conscious and unconscious mechanisms with which humans, animals and inanimate celestial bodies manoeuvre their ship through waters of stress, anxiety or crisis. These mechanisms may include breath, rhythm, repetition, waves, cycles, and the soft rotation of change.

The platitudes of self-help are reminders of some universal truth, perhaps a kind of emotional autocorrect, but these founts of knowledge are empty of context and when pooled together they read like bombastic lunacy. These breaths that have been breathed before can help us breathe now; as whatever works, works. A mantra repeats a verse, which can be spoken out loud or read inside the head, over and over, becoming clearer the more it is spoken, suddenly shifting into abstraction and then oscillating back again. A mantra is a vessel of which the contents are not important but rather the act of filling it up and emptying it out again. A wave is brought in and taken out by the Moon, the Moon is pulled towards and pushed away by the Earth, the Earth is thrown away and drawn closer by the Sun, and everything continues moving up and down, in and out, like the breath of a wave. A sound wave leaves the vocal chords then ricochets off and reverberates through the bones of the nose, the tongue, the teeth, the lips, forming a movement of air, that ripples outwards and illuminates the distant shores of other’s ears.

Self-Soother is an installation of work including: clay sculptures that breathe, soft seating and rippling waves in concrete, ink drawings on carpet, self-affirmation posters, a limited edition self-soother T-shirt, an audio mix, and an all day music event. Specially commissioned for the exhibition is an accompanying text by the writer and travel journalist Alexandra Pereira, relating to her recent expedition to both poles of the Earth.

+4-hour long live music event curated by Escho Records (DK) & KIT Records (UK).
performing musicians:
Nis Bysted, Niels Kristian Eriksen, Richard Greenan, Rune Kielsgaard,
John B McKenna, Michala Petri, Agnete Hannibal Petri, Miki Skak , Astrid Sonne.

++ Self-Soother mix for KIT on NTS Radio

+++ Self-Soother t-shirt with ‘self-affirmations’ text piece from the show on it - reverse on the front to read to yourself in the mirror, normal on the back for your backers to read. Tag on the sleeve saying “Self-Soother”.
Can be purchased through SKITSE.NU

2019.