Glass / Heels is an ongoing performance project that begins with a simple physical problem: moving across broken glass in eight-inch heels. Without the heels, the body can walk across the glass. Once they are on, even standing becomes unstable.

Action quickly breaks down. Walking becomes lowering, rolling and shifting weight through different parts of the body. The glass shifts, the heels catch or slide, and each decision changes what can happen next. The movement is not placed on top of the task, it is produced by it. Risk assessment becomes the choreography.

The height of the heel makes a precise sculptural line against the broken surface. Around that image, meanings quickly attach themselves to the body: danger, control, gender, spectacle, what is real and what is fake. Then they start to give out.

There is beauty in the image, set against the brutality of the glass, repeated effort and a body losing its ability to remain upright. The work keeps the needle moving between the two. Too far towards beauty and the physical task disappears, and too far towards brutality and the body is reduced to endurance.

Glass / Heels is currently being developed towards a full-length performance.

Genres:
Performance art, Contemporary performance, Adaptive spaces: Gallery, stage, site.

Specifications:
Current iteration: 20 minutes
Future full-length work: 50 minutes
Gallery or adaptive space

Glass / Heels is suited to contemporary performance seasons, interdisciplinary festivals, and programs engaging with embodiment, gender, or experimental physical practice. The work pairs well with studio spaces, group shows, showcases, or durational formats.

Artist:
Skye Gellmann

Seasons:
Wings Independent Fashion Festival
Wings Independent II
Phoeton group show Chrissie Cotter Gallery
SIRC_UIT presents INSEQUENCE
Aether Ties presents Soft Collapse
The Last Salon
Dark Mofo
Queer Development Program

Short except from Glass / Heels at Soft Collapse:

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Selected Works:

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Archive: