Time flies

The Time flies installation premiered on 26 June 2004 in Vienna, Austria, in the context of Wo sind wir, wenn wir reisen? (Paul Virilio) 5 KünstlerExpeditionen an 5 Samstagen, a series of five projects on the theme of travel commissioned by Tanzquartier Wien to five different artists.

I was invited by the Tanzquartier Wien to create a project for its Factory Season 2004, and I in turn invited ten artists from different cities around the world (Brussels, Montreal, Lisbon, Ghent, São Paulo, London, Madrid, and Milan) to join me in this project.

In a letter to each of these artists, I asked them to send me video or sound material. This project was really informal. Quite simply, what I was looking for was time: busy time, moments of spare time or idleness, time in between two things, moments of transition, of moving from one place to another, moments of everyday life, ordinary moments of no importance, random moments during which unexpected things might occur, moments when one is getting ready to do something...

I gave each artist a specific two-hour time frame between 7 o'clock in the morning and 3 o'clock at night, during which they would capture a very brief period of their lives — five minutes at the most.

Pierre Jorge Gonzalez joined me to develop an installation with this material that occupied three small rooms in Tanzquartier Wien, each room corresponding to a given moment of the day — morning, afternoon or evening.

We chose to work with materials usually employed in theatre and dance venues: curtains, dance mats, felt, cushions, electrical cables, etc. The artists' material was placed among these elements, which were laid on the floor, piled up, rolled up, or unfolded.

One of the most interesting aspects of the installation was the public's reaction. Green tea was served when people entered; they were then free to walk around in the different rooms at their own pace. Most of them stayed for about forty-five minutes, lying down or sitting on the ground, talking and listening to the various propositions.

Time flies is a site-specific project. In May 2005, Pierre Jorge Gonzalez and I developed a second version of the installation, this time for the Lakeside Arts Centre in Nottingham, in the context of nottdance05. This time, we literally dismantled the theatre, so that technical material such as dance mats, electronic equipment, and curtains was transformed into a stage, presented to the public in the form of a promenade.

For three days, this new version of the installation generated a very interesting sound superimposition in a single space. We made sure to create a certain intimacy with each installation, but at the same time, a wonderful mix of sound monologues and dialogues circulated between the pieces.

Lynda Gaudreau

Credits

Premiere: 26 June 2004, Tanzquartier Wien, as part of Factory Season 2004 (Vienna, Austria)

Concept and Artistic Direction
Lynda Gaudreau

With original sound and video material
Cristian Duarte, Matteo Fargion, Federico Ferrari, João Fiadeiro, Davis Freeman, Francisco López, Lilia Mestre, Christof Migone, Barbara Raes, Alexandre St-Onge

Installation
Lynda Gaudreau, Pierre Jorge Gonzalez

A co-production of Tanzquartier Wien (Vienna, Austria) and the Compagnie De Brune.

Lynda Gaudreau thanks Sigrid Gareis, Silke Bake, fishy, Martina Hochmuth, Gurur Ertem, and the staff of Tanzquartier Wien for their help in producing the Time flies project. Lynda Gaudreau also thanks Jane Greenfield, Janice Galloway, Dan Lounds, Emily Laurens, and their colleagues at Dance 4 National Dance Agency for their invitation and support.