Bonavista Biennale 2021 Catalogue

Using natural elements, materials and sound, asinnajaq’s short experimental film Rock Piece (Ahuriri Edition) explores the connection between the body and land. Influenced by the Fluxus movement of the 1960s and ’70s, the film is presented in a loop, cultivating a compelling visual and auditory rhythm that underscores the cyclical nature of land and environment. The form of the film, the accompanying score and natural sound question the Western constructs of time and urge a renewed awareness of environment and place. The video is accompanied by a printed score: “Feel the weight of the world; free yourself.”

asinnajaq writes: “In Rock Piece (Ahuriri Edition) the score is activated with my body, and many grapefruit-sized rocks. The first part of the score is centred around naming and feeling burdens. The weight of the stones as they pile on your body is an opportunity. Make that which is intangible solid by the weight of the rocks. Breathe deeply in and out from under the weight of the rocks. Name the weight. Through breath the compression of my body is revealed. Let yourself feel it. I refuse to let the weight keep me down. Pushing myself up from the stones slowly and carefully. As I rise from underneath the weight of the stones the stones fall and slide away. It takes effort from the body and mind to be out from under the pressure of the stones but, as they fall, my body feels light and I am free. However, the stones slide back on top of me and I find myself buried again. I must accept that I’m in a cycle.”