Erase

Erase

director/devisor/performer

“Memory’s a terrible thing when it lets you down.”

Dissonance, obsession and perspective all add up in this pointillist performance about memory. A director tries to forget, a pianist tries to remember and an actor traverses the stories of people dealing with (memory) loss. Inspired by spending time with people with dementia, Erase challenges our fixed perception of the forever fleeting nature of memory (and theatre) in light of our ongoing struggle to put our lives into sequence.

Chris was selected as an Artist-in-Residence for Shopfront Arts Co-Op‘s Civic Life program in 2013. During his 6-month residency, he was provided with support and resources to develop Erase, while also assisting on a company project to facilitate the intersection of his practice with the broader Shopfront community. During the making of Erase, he conducted a series of interviews with couples dealing with dementia. A selection of these recordings became an aspect of the final work, along with his fragmented recollections of a relationship and the attempt of a pianist to memorise a piece of music she had never seen or heard before. Under the mentorship of Tamara Saulwick, Erase represented a completely new form and aesthetic for Chris, which was well received.