“Unmade Beds” by Paula Josa-Jones — Photo: George Sakmanof
This is a photograph from a VERY early solo that I made. What I love about it is what is there and what is not there. What is revealed and what is concealed.
Reveal/conceal is a favorite theme for me. When I am teaching movement classes, I will often ask a performer to reveal one thing while concealing another. For example: reveal falling down and getting up while concealing a specific movement phrase. It challenges the mover to dig deeper and makes the performance more mysterious, more layered. I want them to surprise me with something less obvious.
Each day in the writing, I look to uncover something fresh.. Writing and publishing each day is a way of outing myself, of being sure that I show up, that I offer something meaningful. Daily publishing makes my art-making less theoretical, more immediate.
At the same time, I am very aware of what I am revealing and what I am concealing. Of how I am shaping my digital presence. Being a performer my whole life means that I have always played with identity and mask. As I started to plan a shoot for a new headshot, I made a list of things to bring, and realized that I was costuming myself for another role. Figuring out what to reveal and what to conceal.
So I am curious: What do you revealing? What are you concealing? How do you play with those boundaries?
I reveal my vulnerability – I conceal my vulnerability