On April 2, 2011, Davide Balliano will present a public performance of his work in progress called Giving My Back to the Night I Heard You Lying to a Giant Second Giant. His time at Watermill will be focused on the second part of a project divided into five different acts, based on the structure and phases of a night of sleep. The first part was shown at Location One in New York City from February 10 – March 19. The performance will take place outside at Watermill and will last for approximately 4 hours, although the artist does not expect the audience to stay for the work in its entirety.
Giving My Back to the Night I Heard You Lying to a Giant Second Giant which will be performed on April 2 at The Watermill Center will focus on the second stage of sleep when the mind and body split; the mind heads further into our subconscious as the body shuts down. Balliano is currently in the process of developing the specifics of the performance as well as researching stories as possible metaphors. Some of his inspirations include the story of David and Goliath, decapitation, darkness, the mind, and the head.
About the Work
A night of sleep is approximately seven hours long and divided into five phases, which repeat in cycles about three times. Passing through these phases, our mind fades out from reality, moving into unknown regions and for unknown purposes. Science doesn’t have a proven explanation for the objective goals of sleep. The definition of sleep is peculiar and similar to that of a coma, hibernation, or even death, the only difference being that sleep is painlessly reversible. We know that sleep is essential for recharging our immune system and growing muscle and bones, and we suppose that during sleep the brain archives information acquired during the day. Surprisingly, a few nights of not sleeping is enough to cause permanent brain damage and even death.
Each act of Giving My Back will be inspired by the characteristics of one specific sleep phase. The entire project will symbolize a night of sleep. Each part will be a completely autonomous work, with a specific center and radically separated from the other four. The research will lead to a 21-hour (seven hours repeated three times) live performance.
Part one performed at Location One titled Giving My Back to the Night I Heard You Lying to a Giant First Giant, focused on the first stage as one slowly fades. The work utilized the story of Ulysses blinding Polyphemus in the Odyssey as a metaphor for this first stage of falling into sleep.
About the Artist
Davide Balliano was born in Turin, Italy in 1983. In this city he began his studies and earned a Bachelor in Graphic Arts. In 2002 he moved to Milan where he earned a second degree in Photography at the c.f.p Riccardo Bauer, and worked as artist. From June 2004 to June 2005, Balliano was a resident in Fabrica, artist’s residence of Benetton group. Through an unemotional and minimal use of different media (performance, drawing, installation, video and photography), his artistic research allows him to delve deeply into the most hidden aspects of the human mind, revealing their fragile structures and contradictions. Balliano’s works and performances were shown at Location One, The Artists Space and PS1 Contemporary Art Center in New York, The Watermill Center in Southampton, Plymouth Art Center in Great Britain, as well as in New Zeland, Japan and all across Europe.
His portfolio has been recently exhibited in the Archive of Via Farini in the context of the event “NO SOULS FOR SALE” at the Tate Modern Gallery in London. He’s one of the winners of the AOL 25 for 25 Award 2010. Balliano lives and works in New York.
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