It all started with Sandy. Not many people would have imagined that the flooding following the 2012 hurricane could bring the city almost completely to a standstill. Not even artist and theater director Sarah Cameron Sunde. Hurricane Sandy awakened her conscience to one of the biggest themes of our time: are humans able to cope with the effects of the changes in the ecosystem we ourselves have caused, upon entering a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene? Will scientific progress continue to simultaneously spoil and improve? Of course we are aware, but do we really relate to this issue with our bodies and minds on a personal level? Do we invest time in it? Sarah decided she would with the project 36.5/a durational performance with the sea.
In every iteration, Sarah stands in a tidal bay for a full tidal cycle, approximately 12 – 13 hours, as the water engulfs her and then recedes. She has to face the cold, the burning sun, wind, sand, ocean currents, and undertow, and, eventually, darkness. The performance reveals the dangers that are hidden below a calm water surface and challenges her physical and mental endurance. Sarah does not take a watch with her and therefore has to come to a different understanding of time, of the permanent changing and passing of things.
For the Dutch edition of her project, she will stand in the North Sea for thirteen hours on August 10. Sarah encourages everyone to join her.
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