3M²
The first connection is one to a quasi pre-historic world. Here, it is cold and tundra-like. The water drips, drops, plops. It’s silent and barren in this world. There are torsos made of any icy plaster that are illuminated on the walls. Their siblings lay scattered, centerstage: various body parts (feet, hands, arms, etc.) also made of the same icy flesh, also illuminated. There’s a sense of “putting it all together,” or perhaps a failure to. Everything is disconnected somehow, and yet, there is a (quite literal) glimmer that suggests re-connection is possible.
Nikita de Martin’s 3M² was apart of a triple bill when I saw it as part of The Place’s Resolution Festival 2023. This piece, as well of the rest on show this evening all straddled the realms of dance, performance art, and something theatrical. Most all of these pieces were about connection, a failure to connect, or a longing for connection. I found it quite fitting (not to get all nerdy and dramaturgical here) that the space’s configuration was in the round. This was no accident, as Artistic Director Eddie Nixon mentioned in his opening speech. This was an opportunity for artists to test their works in progress in a brand-new configuration and see what came up. It was such a subtle change, and yet, after a bit of reflection, I couldn’t help but notice the link between this space and connection. It certainly added a level of vulnerability for all of the artists on stage that night, especially for those doing solo performances.
Nikita’s performance was certainly vulnerable but, more importantly, it was daring and dangerous. As Nikita begins to speak, adding even more to the “pre-historic vibes” I was catching onto (How do you count time? Where do you begin? are but a few of the questions Nikita echoes), Nikita begins to pile rocks on top of one of the two unfinished, wooden boards that are encircled by the scattered body parts. I get the image here of laying down stones to keep the bodies down— a Jewish tradition that respectfully remembers the dead. She lays the stones out in a specific configuration. It’s all very performance art-y so far… Then she piles the boards one on top of the other; the stones are sandwiched in between. You can certainly surmise that these boards are, well… 3M². Nikita stands on top of the chaotic sandwich that has just been assembled. She traces the perimeter of the boards, testing both her balance and the balance of the two boards. In the show’s synopsis, it states that two peoples’ skin covers an area worth 3M². As Nikita quickens the pace and the boards begin to clang together violently, they threaten just as much to violently pull apart. It perhaps echoes that of a toxic relationship. Or maybe it isn’t even that extreme. Perhaps it’s just two people on different pathways, struggling just as much to come together as they are to pull apart.
The piece, although a mere 20 minutes, posited several questions and intriguing images that definitely merit a further expansion of this idea. The genre of the piece alone is a fascinating one, and The Place, as well as the work it produces, gives hope for an expansion of more work that elevates, moves, and brings together elements of theatre, performance, movement, and dance.
I saw 3M² as part of a triple bill at The Place on 15 June.
