Tea Project: Self Portrait 1980-2007
01 Recess Tea Party:
1980-1985 (Yellow)
Meriwether Lewis School
SE 45th and Evergreen
Sun. Sept 9, 3:15 pm
Dress: Grey
Bring: Yellow recess snacks to share
02 Silent Tea Party:
1986-1997 (Blue)
On the median strip between the trees at Reed College Pl. between Bybee and Knapp
Tues. Sept 11, 2007
Dress: Blue
Bring: Lilies and bubbles
03 Possibilit(ea)y Party:
1993-2007 (Red)
Sat. Sept. 15, 2007
Dress: Red
Bring: Bees
$3 general / kids (0 - 9) FREE
www.teaproject33.org
Statement
When I buried the past I covered the future
Living is a fluid ever-changing process.
An immense amount of energy must be expended to stop the dynamic expansion of a life.
If I choose to resist change, it is the same as attempting to stop the flow of the Ganges -
an impossible task to accomplish let alone sustain.
Once I believed that possibility was my enemy. I felt threatened by the endless opportunities
available to me and was frozen by my fear of making the “wrong” choice. This fear led me to avoid
all commitment and responsibility. I accomplished this avoidance by refusing to accept the power
that I have been given to choose (and create) the reality I wish to inhabit.
If I deny my desire for reality long enough eventually I will be crushed by it.
If I open myself to the unexpected present I open myself to infinite resources beyond what I can
comprehend or imagine.
Why do I actively avoid the possibility of transformation in my life? Change can be terrifying
and uncomfortable because in order for sustainable change it is necessary to acknowledge that
safety and control are illusions. If I admit that I am not in control then I am faced with two
possible conclusions.
1. Someone or something else is in control
2. No one or nothing is in control
What ever I choose to believe I must acknowledge that I have no control over anything but my own
ability to accept personal responsibility according to my present understanding of reality.
When I focus my intention and make clear, proactive decisions I am more able to be completely and
absolutely myself. No one has been me before. No one will be me again. I do the world (and myself)
a great disservice if I choose to withhold a full and complete experience of who I am.
My performances are arranged in graduating layers of participation. Those at the table (center)
are completely immersed in the experience. As the layers extend, active participation will
dissolve into passive participation (viewing only) into unconscious participation (someone reading
next door, driving on the freeway, ordering a beer at a bar in Des Moines or playing soccer in Korea).
If I allow space for the entire universe to enter into my performance, I acknowledge the universe as
an influential, multifaceted and inevitable collaborator in the process of existence.
'I will never be able to relive this day, except in memory.' - M. Kozelek
We all inhabit each second together. Reality is precariously balanced upon each second as if
perched on the head of a tiny pin. The seconds fall like dominoes, constantly and consecutively,
regardless of our position in space at any given time. The past and the future do not exist except
as memory and projection. As each second passes, the reality of the present moves from one moment
to the next and then the next and so on. The only reality we can know is in the second we inhabit
right now.
The 2007 PICA TBA Tea Project Cycle is an exploration of memory and transformation. The ambiguous
nature of the past is compared to the uncertainty of the future and balanced (for an instant) in
the knowledge of the present.
