CURATING COLLECTIVE COLLECTION
How to generate a new form of storytelling by using the exquisite corpse’s technique as a creative process?
For the realisation of the Curating Collective Collection project – Laura + Rita – we decided to work together. This decision led us to become interested in the idea of collaboration and how can two people work together on one single project. Departing from here and by means of the “exquisite corpse’s technique”, developed by the Surrealism Movement, our aim was to answer and explore the question: How to generate a new form of storytelling by using the exquisite corpse’s technique as a creative process?
The starting point was that we would make a drawing in conjunction – Laura + Rita: each of us would sketch a part of this drawing without seeing what the other was doing but still following a common line between each picture. The result consisted of a large drawing where we both intervened three times each simultaneously.
Then, each of us invited eleven people, selected for their skills, talent or age, to interpret the drawing in their own way. We asked these participants to dance, to draw, to make music, a video, to take pictures, to write, to describe the drawing, etc. and a dialogue was created between the two similar but different results from the various people involved.
From those participations, we chose both our grandmothers’, since these were the ones that allowed us moving forward on our project. Based on the exquisite corpse’s technique and the storytelling’s form, we decided to build a process in order to create our project around it. In order to develop this method, we created some rules to put our process into practice. Being so, we picked up our grandmothers’ interpretations, mixed their two stories while rewriting a new one. The next step was to create an object to illustrate this new story.
With these two elements, the text and the object , we contacted two new participants who didn ́t know each other, and asked them to listen to the existing story and continue it in a spontaneous way. We then applied the same methodology: we rewrote a new episode and created a new object to illustrate it. And this time, these two people suggested the contacts of two new participants who could follow the process. With these rules by applying this method, like a snow ball, it was possible for our collaborative process to move forward.
In the end we got in touch with 22 people, creating 11 episodes and 10 objects. With all these elements, a longer story was created and a collection of 10 objects was built. The eleventh episode concludes the story and doesn’t need an object since nobody will move forward with it.
E-mail sent to people involved
Links between people involved on the project + results using the technique
ritareiscolaco.wordpress.com 