One thing I swore that my piece was not going to be, was autobiographical. However, seeing as though it was connection to my previous ideas that I had been lacking, I thought it to be possibly the best thing for me to explore. I also wanted my solo performance to show who I am as well as my performative abilities. The desire to work with flowers was still present and I kept this in mind whilst beginning to write automatically. A page and a half later, I gave it a read through and before I could edit it, I video recorded my lips speaking it. In this monologue I speak of domestic abuse. This is a subject that I am very much connected to.
The flowers that I wish to utilize in my piece represent the breakdown of a person related to domestic abuse, particularly relationship abuse. I have an image of sitting in a darkened room with a single spotlight above me, a photo frame hung in front of me, a flower in my hands and tape across my mouth. Audio will play whilst the video projection of my lips will speak over the top of my taped mouth. The tape represents the inability to speak whilst the frame does a similar thing in that pictures are immobile and speechless, so it is as though I am the still picture. Nevertheless, I will begin to pick the petals from the flower signifying that my mentality as well as my physicality are both weakening until I am left with only the stem of the flower, only the skeleton of a person. The piece will continue where I will attempt to mend the flower, piecing it back together with the tape from my mouth. This symbolises the rebuild of a person and how hard it is to try and fix something so fragile. I also feel that the aesthetics here will be both ugly and beautiful simultaneously. The way in which the black tape covers the coloured petals shows the scars that cover a person, whether they are seen on the body or lived with internally, they may fade but will never disappear. Considering that all of the tape from my mouth will be wrapped around the flower, the end of the piece will finish by showing the ability to speak again, and like a flower, representing my growth in strength, happiness and beauty.