Art Martha. Lady Goes to Nature.

The former iron working town of Fiskars is now a bustling tourist town, particularly on summer weekends. Yesterday, ahead of next weeks Summer Solstice celebrations, the locals picnicked by the river for an afternoon of performances by invited artists, both resident and from afar. I've got a couple of posts to follow about Floating Gardens, in particular the fascinating Fake Finns works, but I'm going to start with Olga Prokhorova's Lady Goes to Nature performance involving a prim and proper Burberry frock, white shoes, multiple pairs of white pantyhose and a clothes line.

Over the course of the afternoon Olga's austere manner remained constant as she frolicked in the dandelion field, waded ankle deep into the muddy river and knelt in the dank garden bed. Between each of these activities and others, she composed herself in an almost matronly manner as she changed her stockings and hung up each newly stained pair for all to see. By the end of the day seven or eight pairs hung from the line complete with notes of her adventures.

Much performance art is about endurance, not just of the performer but of the audience too. Olga's deadpan resolve in Lady Goes To Nature was enthralling, particularly considering how little really happened with much left unsaid about social and cultural conventions.