Performance — Cindy Rehm

Secret Book, performed at Mains d'Oeuvres; Saint-Ouen, France, 2013

Secret Book reflects reoccurring themes drawn from Hélène Cixous’ Philippines, including telepathy, doubling, and the relationship between dream-life and the limitless imagination of childhood. Rehm transversed the space using the professed secret books of Hélène Cixous and Alexandra Grant, as she enacted a private ritual that explored a transference between the interior and exterior body through quiet meditations and symbolic gestures.

This project was presented in conjunction with Alexandra Grant's Forêt Intérieure/Interior Forest.

Photography by David Orme

Summer Skin, performed at Yard Work; Los Angeles, California, 2013

Summer Skin was a private ritual inspired by folk-magic for the healing of old wounds.

Five Offerings (Silent Wound), performed at Craftswoman House; Pasadena, California, 2012

Five Offerings was a recreation of Liebestod, which was performed by Cheri Gaulke and Barbara T. Smith in 1977 as part of Suzanne Lacy's Three Weeks in May. This iteration was presented as part of Lacy's Pacific Standard Time Project, Three Weeks in January.

Traces (for Ana), performed at Elysian Park; Los Angeles, California, 2011

Traces (for Ana) payed homage to Ana Mendieta’s Silueta Series, which featured Mendieta physically rendering her body into the earth. Like Mendieta, Rehm enacted a ritual‑ based performance that explored the fragile separation between the body’s interior and exterior space.

The Lack, performed at Craftswoman House; Pasadena, California, 2011

The Lack was created in response to Freud's penis envy theory. The work was presented at Home Rites, a series of performances developed during the Body, Gender and Ritual Workshop at Craftswoman House.

Marking, performed at Transmodern Age; Baltimore, Maryland, 2005

Marking was made through the performance score; milk, hair, blood. After a milk cleansing, a layer of hairnets was applied to the face and red fluid was released from the mouth to stain seven white handkerchiefs.

The Silence, St. John's Church, Baltimore, Maryland, 2004

The Silence was a private ritual created in response to Anne Sexton’s poem of the same title. In the work thirty-nine squares of paper were blessed and marked by the tongue.

Echo, cross-country performance, 2004

In the summer of 2004, during a twenty-eight-day cross-country trip, I enacted performance and conceptual works culled from the history of art. The works were performed in private and public spaces including, hotel rooms, sidewalks, and found urban and natural environments. The works were documented through digital photography and postcard notifications, which were mailed to friends, colleagues, and art institutions after each action was completed.