Cat's Cradle
by Tomi Paasonen, Matthew De Gumbia, John Tiddby, & Kunst-Stoff
Two gigantic metal hands emerge from the playa and create a 30' diameter space, in which participants dance and weave a web of white yarn, using the hands to connect the yarn. Participants can write their hopes and fears for the future on paper tags which will be tied into the ever denser web. The action of webbing will be initiated by the dancers each sundown, and participants will join in weaving the inner space. A minimal ambient hypnotic sound-design will accompany their thoughts as they weave their own paths through the space between the hands and inspire people to gradually start to dance in relation to the mesh. The more people weave, the denser the web will become. Thus each participant has to face the actions and paths of previous players. The white yarn will be illuminated with black light, bringing the web to a glow. The yarn represents our path through life, our patterns, memory, and neurological network, as well as the consequences and interconnectedness of our own and other people’s actions.