Fascination is the Force Which Enters the Eyes and Penetrate the Heart

When considering karaoke buses as a class-determined form of escapist fantasy, I came across Victorian panoramas and other simulated journeys. In this piece, I subvert the walking tour as a performance genre. I ask participants to close their eyes as I lead them through sculptural objects, constructing the image/panorama along with me. I’m particularly interested in moments when our minds and bodies are out of sync, as with dreams, mental loops, and other experiences of ephemerality and in-betweenness. I am curious about how storytelling, singing, and prayers engage with the historical spaces of illusion, what systems of perception are renewed in the development of simulation and synthetic realism, and how artists, like magicians, can conjure images that challenge the lingering ghosts of imperialism, using imagination to subvert their power..