Five Silent Structures

August 23, 2014. 4-6p.
Old Fort Lawton at Discover Park.  Seattle, WA

Performers/Collaborators: Tamin Totzke, Calie Swedberg, Belle Wolf and Larry Browning

Five structures sit vacant at the old Fort Lawton in Discovery Park. These historic buildings were once the cornerstones of a bustling military community on watch for the US Government. Today, they are preserved and meticulously cared for yet their windows and doors permanently sealed.  Without the rituals of use they are virtually invisible.

During this two hour performance five performers slowly circumnavigated the empty structures. Carefully we walked, ran our hands down railings, leaned against columns and faced off with unyielding walls. In stillness our bodies mirrored the quietness within these buildings.  Through attentive and generous gestures we lent tactility to each structure through osmosis. This work illuminated the memory embodied in this historic site allowing the audience to see its histories anew.

Five Silent Structures was a satellite event included in the SOIL Gallery's exhibition, It is a door and window that make a room useful.

Performance + Exhibition Review: The Empty, locked buildings on Magnolia Bluff  by Jen Graves of the Seattle Stranger.
Photographs by Tia White and Timothy O'Connor.