A collaboration between Nancy Dewhurst and Molly Zimmer.
Created during the Land Arts of the American West programme, in the Gila Forest, New Mexico.
Creature was a collaborative performance which addressed concepts of camouflage, movement through space, species development based on habitat factors, and the transformation of materials that are locally sourced. The performance suit was constructed with yucca leaves from the nearby soil in Brock Canyon, strapped together using black zip ties and trash bags.
As part of the Land Arts of the American West outdoor interdisciplinary programme, we visited the Gila National Forest for four days, where we collaborated on Creature. We combined our concepts, developing games out of limitations in play and constructing material objects at site-specific locations that embedded the human in the landscape. Together, we wanted to explore material and sound and create a narrative out of movement. The piece addressed the aesthetic of the natural environment and allowed us to play on the folklore of the area’s stories of the Gila monster, wilderness fauna, and unknown territory that is protected in the Gila forest.
Nancy Dewhurst 