Playing Chess | 2013

The performance is about a simple game of chess, using the Object for Performance from the artist Washington Silveira. This object is an extended chessboard, 40cm wide and 2,10 meters long. The performance begins when carrying to chairs and the Object for Performance; we go to the Boca Maldita in downtown Curitiba. We assemble the chessboard, place one chair at each end of the board, place the chess figures on the chessboard, and start playing. All of the chess game rules are respected as in a regular game. The performance ends when on of the players wins.

The work began with the invitation from the artist Washington Silveira, after he had produced the Object for the Performance. The idea was simply to play a simple chess game, but in a public space. We chose a day at lunchtime to perform the game. None of the two is a specialist in chess, neither one had played for a long time. There was no timer: the performance would last as long as the game’s time. 

This is the first performance in my work in which I explore a practice, in that case a game. Therewith, I managed to reach a more broad scope over the research about the action further than a simple action and closer to a complex action.