Chapter One
This Chapter discusses and addresses the research undertaken on Jacques Derrida's Deconstruction in combination with ideologies of Metaphysics.
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The process of exploring this is through translation of movement practices and the use of string and braiding in order to explore the first installment of my Major Project.
Deconstruction
Upon my initial investigation into unpicking an entanglement the work of Derrida had not crossed my mind. It wasn't until looking further into their ideologies I become ensnared within this world of Deconstruction. The notion of picking apart the braid and understanding each component as a singular rather than a collective.
“That is what deconstruction is made of: not the mixture but the tension between memory, fidelity, the preservation of something that has been given to us, and, at the same time, heterogeneity, something absolutely new, and a break.” (Derrida, 2022: Online)
But First Composition (My Own String Theory)
The inspiration for braiding and entanglement developed from my 'Performative Lecture' in which I explored my practice as a Scholar and a Weaver. This then developed into the creation of my first Performative Response the use of string and braiding together was established under the research of auto-didacts and the composition of what creates a performer. Leading into experimentation with form and translation into another discipline.
My first engagement with Deconstruction was with the notion of Construction.
The string used in this picture served as an allegory for singularity. On their own they serve a purpose only to themselves and are not codified by their entanglement with another entity. This resonated the composition of metaphysical structures on a basic level, being viewed as individual rather than engaging with interconnection.
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Time, Space, Knowing - All these metaphysical ideologies being considered as an entity on their own rather than a conglomeration of different strands.
''Good Composition is like a suspension bridge - each line adds strength and takes none away'' (Henri, 2022: Online''
Upon creating 'String Theory' watching the braiding and the interstitial spaces in between, enlightened me into the epistemological nature of construction. The joining together of each singularity to create a stronger fully formed composition.
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This allowed me to explore the performative element within creating this video (Right). Watching the way the string was pliable to my direction and obey the command of my fingers paid homage to Eugenio Barba's Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology exploring the hands in an environment which isn't considered performative but the combination of epistemological formats begin to show something else - a new structure, a new composition.
Once the first three strings were braided together, another three were braided in opposing colours, followed by a braiding of another three in alternating colours. This was to allow the observer to gauge the braids as individuals rather than see the individual strings as opposed to the alternating strings.
Finally as seen on the video all three braids were then braided together to form one final braid - one final composition. This I refer to as a 'Meta-Composition'.
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A composition by definition is the nature of somethings ingredients or constituents. It is something which already is made of components. A 'Meta-Composition' is combining/layering many different compositions together to create something new. For the purpose of this allegory the braids were used to create a bigger braid but the colours combining together offer a visual aid into this ideology.