Snapping Turtle / Wishing Well
Snapping Turtle | Wishing Well
by DeLesslin George-Warren
Part of chashama's Summer Performance Series!
chashama 1351 Window Space
1351 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY
(between 125th and 126th St.)
June 12th - 16th, 2013
Gallery Hours:
Daily, 12 - sunset
Many Native American tribes, including DeLesslin George-Warren's own, the Catawba, had entire mythologies and religions built around waterways. As settlers encroached on Native lands many peoples lost access to their ancient waterways, inducing spiritual and physical crises that Native people have yet to recover from.
For a total of 40 hours over the course of 5 days, George-Warren will stand in a pond holding a raining umbrella (from Lynn Lu's inadequate reality adaptation). As his clothes and skin are continuously soaked through he will sing, recite, and intone stories describing the history of water according to his tribe as well as a recent Native manifesto on water rights.
As we continue to manipulate and poison our waterways it is becoming apparent that this isolation from natural water systems is no longer an issue limited to Native people. This installation and performance will provide passing audiences an oasis in the midst of the busy city streets in which to consider the physical and spiritual ecstasy of water. It will beg passersby to ask questions about the connection between water, humanity, and joy through the lens of traditional Catawba mythology and practices.
DeLesslin George-Warren (b. 1991) is a composer, artist, and performer raised in Rock Hill, SC, adjacent to the Catawba Indian Nation’s reservation where he learned his tribe’s drumming, dancing, and pottery making. He has performed with choirs and ensembles in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee while simultaneously premiering works with the York County Choral Society, Westminster Catawba Singers, Church of Our Saviour Choir, First Presbyterian Church Choir, the Portara Ensemble, Ars Gaga String Quartet, Black Rock String Quartet, and others. He currently performs in various locales in and around Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN) where he studies voice, composition, and performance art.
