An Unforeseen Encounter, 2021-2023
Sarah collects everyday utensils such as plastic bags, fruit nets, cardboard and napkins. In An Unforeseen Encounter, Sarah's body relates to that of a plastic bag. For a long time, the artist had a detached relationship with her body, but while cleaning up her studio, she accidentally discovered how the plastic bag becomes a moving, unpredictable entity when it fills with air: an unexpected encounter. The body movements she creates are inspired by the Spanish flamenco in which she took dance lessons. Through practising this dance style that focuses on the celebration of the powerful female body, Sarah gained more and more confidence in her physical presence and her Spanish temperament was fuelled.
From this combination of elements sprung the performative video project An Unforeseen Encounter, in which Sarah uses her body as an instrument and the plastic bag as dancing partner. What happens when the human body follows the unpredictable movement of a plastic bag? To answer this question, the artist sought a location where the wind filled the plastic bags and she could film these improvisations while dancing. In serene video recordings, she captured the unexpected encounter between man and bag amid the Spanish landscape, near her childhood home in Blanca.
An Unforeseen Encounter is an ode to the plastic bag and a reassessment of the meaning of everyday disposable objects. This collection of objects serves as a tangible representation of a specific moment in time and place. They lead a fleeting existence and are in danger of disappearing as a result of their material component and one-off function, but also because of their polluting effects on the fragile environment. Sarah approaches these objects as part of contemporary archaeology.

_
Financially supported by Makersloket (Stichting Droom & Daad) and PPR (CBK Rotterdam).
Featured on Mister Motley, read here
↑Back to Top