Ilya Noé "Deascent" (2018/19)

statement / about the work

Five steps to “surrogate perform” Deascent by Ilya Noé:

1. Find a location with a minimum of two pairs of escalators.

2. Identify an escalator to that moves in the direction away from the floor you have decided to start the action on (as opposed to one transporting people towards it). Walk to the edge of it and turn around. With your back to the escalator, take some time to look around. Wait for the moment when the traffic coming your way slows down before you take the next step.

3. In a single motion, grab the moving handrail and take a step back on to the escalator. As soon as you put your foot down, let go of the rail and start walking forward. Try to stick to one side of the escalator, but be ready to change it up so you don’t block anyone’s way. Remain attentive throughout. Take your time to find your rhythm but make sure your pace is slower than the speed of the machine so that despite moving contrary to the flow, you still end up on the next floor. In other words, climb up to go down and climb down to go up. Embrace the paradox.

4. Once you reach the treadmill-like section at either the bottom or top of the escalator, take time to walk in place so you can rest your legs and map your pathway to the next “progressive” climb. When you feel ready to move on, grab the handrail again and get off the escalator by switching to backwards stepping.

5. Don’t stop moving when you are back on solid ground. Keep walking in reverse but slow down your steps and breathing as much as possible. Don’t look back. Instead, wield your memory and your manual and pedal touch to find your way to another escalator. You can also use your voice. Remember that the windows between climbs are not only particularly good opportunities to check with yourself and refuel if necessary, but also to engage more directly/explicitly with the larger ecology. Have conversations. Repeat steps 3-5 for eight hours in total, or from opening to closing time of the location. That is, if the situation allows.

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