table of sad penguin performances
It is a sad penguin. It might not be all about climate. Some penguins just feel sorry for the human people. I sit at a table and paint very simple ink and watercolor penguins on small pieces of paper. I try to make them feel as sad as possible. If any spectators come along, I offer them one or more of the penguins. Then we often talk about sadness, penguins, ice, ducks, eggs, climate heating, and other sad penguin related subjects. Sometimes we take photos together. When my work area becomes full and crowded with sad penguin paintings, I gather them together and tape them up in strips and grids on nearby surfaces. I can paint hundreds in a day. ‘sad penguins’ is a very simple performance that attempts to communicate non-violently with and about sadness, penguins, cuteness, and the hyperobject called climate change.
Sometimes a participatory performance that invites the audience to paint sad penguins together. In the tradition of contemplative calligraphic practices, the painting of sad penguins is an embodied practice of mourning. It helps us to move the grief and sadness of accepting the claustrophobic consequences of the anthropocene.The physical operation of painting the penguins is an act of self- compassion. sad penguins is a very simple performance that attempts to communicate non-violently with and about sadness, penguins, cuteness, and the hyperobject called climate change.
Table of sad penguins Performances
“it is a sad penguin” essay published in Performance Research 22
Erogate/Surrogate Performance Series
sad penguinos – first penguins
painting between prints
sad penguins – giant wheat paste graffiti
listening to the earth ii
Dashila’r Beijing
Homeshop, Beijing
Kunming Markets
the projects, portland
Ecopoetics, Berkeley 2013
sad penguins online and mobile app
sad penguins app
Davis, California
direct link to UC Davis performance video
“painting sad penguins” rough draft essay