Laurence Dube-Rushby at Venice Biennale

Venice Loves Me Back

 

Following a tester project in Andover, UK, Laurence took the "Love Me Back' project to the Venice Biennale in August 2015.

Drawing from the history of the woollen industry, Laurence set out to walk the heart shaped route of different towns and cities which were associated to the woollen trade. 

Fowling the success of the Andover Town project, Laurence took the performance to the Venice Biennale, creating her own Collateral event; the streets, lanes and canals of Venice became her pavilion. The romantic and artistic setting of Venice was a perfect platform to experiment the international potential of the project.

On her way, she hand spun local wool, carrying a spindle on a belt to replicate a tradition from Eastern European countries. The women would mix their wool work with other daily chores; the tradition is for their husband to decorate the belt they carry as an expression of love towards their partner. While walking Laurence engaged with Venice's visitors and collected love, connection and serendipity stories from all over the world.

The belt is a story in progress which will be transformed at each venue with symbols representing the stories collected on the journey.

The thinking process

'It is interesting that while offering to observe and attempt to quantify the experience of the project, the tools I chose set out to be unmeasurable ; How long is a piece of string? I asked myself while undertaking the work.

“Scientists can no longer measure a given length at a fundamental level. The particles in the end can be said to exist in more than one place at the same time, making it impossible to find the finality of an object at an atomic level.”

The project has turned out to become the beginning of a new research which will explore interconnectedness and relationships through crafts, materials and cultures, highlighting the importance of telling a story as a way to relate to one another.

A piece of string doesn’t have a length until it is measured; a story, does not exist until it is told, and for this it needs someone to tell it and someone to tell it to.

I started with preparing the wool, dyes and equipment. The preparation soon became a ritual .The ritual then turned into a performance.

The project has allowed me to explore the performative space within life and within my art practice.

The rituals carefully unfolded towards the next move, questions raised by and through the work found answers within conversations.

The belt will be decorated slowly with elements from each part of my journey.