Edited video and photographic documentation of performance by Johan Thom (South Africa), Casa Wabi, Mexico, 17:00-18:30, 25 May 2024.

My body weight in ice (101kg) returned to the sea.

For the performance I explore the weight, form, force and feel of my body rendered as a block of ice. It takes four of us to slowly carry the block of ice to the beach in the blazing heat of the Pacific summer sun. Then, owing to its weight, the solid block of ice becomes an unmanageable, even dangerous object as it is momentarily freed from gravity and repeatedly lifted by the waves. Slowly a hole forms in its center, allowing me to carry it and throw it back into the sea – again and again until it fragments and disappears completely. Perhaps the ocean doesn’t want me. But still, my frozen body melts away and ultimately blends back into the warm ocean current. A material form dispersed in space and time.

Rough waters. The beach is not safe at all. One moment you are standing on damp sand and the next you are chest deep, battling with the undertow to not drag you further into the depths. A few days earlier I find a number of large fish bitten in half and spat out on the sand. Even a small crocodile doesn’t survive the maelstrom. I spend a month drawing in the water every day to prepare for this moment. I think I know this beach, these waters well enough by now. Things always go wrong though. (The residency dogs invite themselves to the performance and now they too playfully muck about the video documentation).

Besides the other more obvious ideas in the artwork (such as climate change and funerary rites, for example) I think of it primarily as a return to source by way of the material transformation of form. All life first emerged from the oceans. One might very well say that water transformed the earth into a meaningful, self aware entity. But, whether by way of its relative absence or its overabundance, water is always a powerful force that can easily take its gifts back too, even refuse and destroy them completely. Strange homecoming indeed. (From personal experience I know that intimate, lasting bonds of belonging are not always guaranteed simply because someone or something gave birth to you).

Disclaimer: The ice used for this work was custom made through a process of freezing sea water in stages. The water was sourced directly from the sea at Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Like many places all over the world today, the entire region of Oaxaca in Mexico is currently experiencing severe droughts and high levels of water scarcity. Therefore it was decided not to make the ice using fresh water.

Credits: Assistants: Gustavo Parra (drone footage, logistical and physical assistance); Marina Azahua (photography); Luis Canseco (physical assistance); Juan Pino (logistical and physical assistance)

The work was made possible through the support of: The Casa Wabi Foundation (Mexico), The Nirox Foundation (South Africa); The Clair and Eduardo Villa Trust & The National Research Foundation, South Africa.

Special thanks to: Carla Sodi & Olu Oguibe for your kind, critical feedback on the work during its development stages.