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I Don't See Deer 

Stella Mastorosteriou

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1. I SEE / I DON'T SEE

 

I see people walking

I don’t see someone walking backwards

I see a lady putting on her jacket

I don’t see someone walking around in their underwear

I see someone coughing with her hand in front of her mouth

I don’t see someone crying

I see a bicycle stopping at the traffic light

I don’t see someone running fast

I see an elder man holding shopping bags

I don’t see someone carrying a person on their back

 

I see a woman clenching her palm in a fist

I don’t see a woman clapping her palms together

I see a woman swinging her right arm forth and back while she walks

I don’t see a woman swinging both arms forth and back at the same time

I see a woman lifting her left leg and looking under her show

I don’t see a woman lifting both arms in the air at the same time

I see a man walking with two hands in his pockets

I don’t see a man walking with two hands on his head

 

I see people sitting on chairs

I don’t see people sitting on cars

I see dragging a trolley

I don’t see dragging each other

I see looking at the cell phone

I don’t see avoiding looking at the ground

I see scratching

I don’t see not touching anything

I see walking forward

I don’t see walking backwards, on all fours or any other way

 

I see people carrying window dolls

I don’t see people carrying people while dancing

I see people being serious

I don’t see people smiling

I see myself observing and a lady observing me

I see people acting differently when they are alone and differently when with others

I don’t see the same freedom

I see more people walking alone

I don’t see companions going to a party dancing

I see elderly walking on the inner side of the street

I don’t see keeping a straight route /  not doing ‘slaloms’ around people

I see people not looking at me – when they do, I wonder, is something wrong?

 

I see people carrying things

I don’t see people carrying each other

I see people looking at something (their phones)

I don’t see people looking at each other

I see people walking next to or behind each other

I don’t see people walking back to back

I see people walking stooped

I don’t see people skipping

 

I see people  walking slowly

I don’t see people standing still

I see stopping to read something on the street, a sign for example

I don’t see standing all together under a tree

I see walking and eating cheese pie

I don’t see walking and falling asleep

I see crossing the street

I don’t see standing on the crossing or running across at the last moment

I see waiting for something standing still

I don’t see waiting for something sitting on the ground or exercising

 

I see people walking

I don’t see people rolling on the ground

I see one gambling

I don’t see many gambling

I see many holding something

I don’t see others carrying them

I see empty chairs

I don’t see empty street crossings

I see someones going somewhere

I don’t see many arriving

 

I see 2 bikers

I don’t see 2 girls from the synchronized swimming team

I see people

I don’t see deer

I see signs

I don’t see destination

I see triangle with trees

I don’t see park

I see rules

I don’t see …

 

I see people holding cell phones

I don’t see people holding balls

I see people walking forward

I don’t see people walking backwards

I see cars

I don’t see rollers

I see talking

I don’t see singing

I see people on the sidewalk

I don’t see people on the grass

 

I see people looking and moving in the same direction

I don’t see people moving without looking where they go

I see each one finding their route

I don’t see bumping on each other

I see walking all on the same level

I don’t see climbing on mantels, cars, benches

I see each one’s hands in their own ‘space’

I don’t see touching others and the objects in space

 

 

2. DOCUMENTING GESTURES

 

I lower my gaze to listen better to my friend that I walk with

I turn my head because I saw or heard something that drew my attention

I hug a passerby because I happen to know them

We walk hand in hand because we walk together

I walk (slowly and) with my head high because I am looking for something

 

Adjusting of clothes

Short staccato movements

like pinching

 

sketch of hands on the chest, thumbs on the straps of the backpack

 

she swings the flyer

she counts with the fingers         (little girl on dad’s shoulders)

she looks around

 

hand on hair

 

2 girls talking holding cell phones + looking more or less everywhere vs talking + playing si Mario

In order to make a decision to change they have to stop walking vs cheering + then running

When 2 people walk they rarely change position vs when 4 people walk they change positions

In order to talk they are: sketch of people face to face vs sketch of people on top of each other

 

WAITING:

Hands tied in front of me. My palms touch my arms. My head turns right-left and looks. My base is stable and fixed. It is also asymmetrical. My gaze looks for what I am waiting for.

ADJUSTMENT OF CLOTHING:

With my right hand I touch my left collar and center it

ADJUSTMENR OF HAIR:

With my left hand I take a stride of my hair and twist it. The rest of the body walks normally.

FEAR OF THEFT:

With my left hand I extend the head of my arm and turn it inwards. The elbow bends towards the center of the spine and my hand turns counter clockwise.

 

Sketch – Bodies bypassing public works

Fingers and then caressing of face

He touched his nose and his ear.

Identification of features

Mobility issues – hunchback

 

Blowing nose

1 hand available

0 hand available

Sign of cross

They pass close to you like I invade your personal space. They refuse to change route.

Smile

Hand in the pocket that is not curious or doesn’t look for something

 

Caressing his belly

He is hungry, full, sensation of fullness

Pointing direction

I turn and look back

I wait for someone to come

In order to continue my route

Twisting hair

Thoughts according to intensity

Stress, insecurity, impatience or fiddling

Movement of head and one arm downwards

She tried to make someone listen to her or impose what she says

 

A man wiped his face on his arm and then brought his arm on his face

A sitting man points with his straight right arm towards a direction – then he stands

Sketch of hands holding books – a girl walks with a stack of books that she holds in front of her belly with stretched fingers

A man takes of his helmet with two hands, lifting the shoulders at the same time

 

Crossed arms in front of belly

Shaking crumbles of my blouse

Making the sign of cross

Holding my fists on my waist

Lifting my arms in front of my eyes and taking a photo with my cell phone

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TWO EXERCISES FOR OBSERVING AND DOCUMENTING EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE PUBLIC SPACE

I DON’T SEE DEER is a choreographic study of theinterrelations between the body and urban space. Creating ephemeral site-specific images that play with the boundary between the familiar and the unfamiliar, it attempts to highlight alternative, more playful ways of being in/thinking about the city.

The project has developed through the creation of a video, a promenade performance, a photographic series and several workshops and writing exercises.

 

Project credits

concept / choreography: Stella Mastorosteriou

performers: Phaedra Charalampidou, Konstantinos Katsamakis, Foteini Kontouli, Xenia Kottaki, Anna Kyriazi, Artemis Pyrpillis, Aggelos Tsarouchas

camera & edit: Danai Tobrou

photos: Konstantinos Katsamakis, Stella Mastorosteriou

 

Presentations / support

The video I DON'T SEE DEER has participated in Playful Instinct exhibition in Krudebude - Leipzig (June 2019) and will be screened in Cinema Urbana - Architectural Film Festival in Brazilia (October 2019 - official selection).

The promenade performance was supported by Labattoir Project and presented during Thessaloniki Design Week.

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