i am an impossible thing

2024

new work in currently in progress

i am an impossible thing is a solo work about addiction. It is performed in three parts.

i. deprivation

ii. getting clean

iii. the axe

The first part is about discovery - it represents the hunger, the sensation of never getting full. It is incessant. The second part is about denial - the severity of sobriety, and the purging and penance that come with it. The axe is a contradiction. It is capable of seeing and knowing that our addictions are a form of protection that comfort and keep us from having to be with ourselves. At the same time it is about the precarious violence that comes with holding this resource of pleasure and escape.

i am an impossible thing seeks to make the marks that are left behind by addiction and recovery visible. In the process of making the work choreographer Heather Stewart unpacked and explored her family's lineage of addiction and mental illness. The work traverses states of physical discomfort and duration and is deliberate in its expression of addiction as an ongoing, unrelenting process. The sound design for the piece is a collaborative effort. It was partially developed by dull aka Marc Bartissol and has been further expanded by musician Courtney Swain.

Choreographed and performed by Heather Stewart

Original Sound: dull & Courtney Swain

Research & creation for i am an impossible thing has been supported by artist residencies at Hewnoaks in Lovell, Maine and Art Factory Malakta, in Malax, Finland, and a professional development grant from The Canada Council for the Arts