Commonly Connected - a project in process

Currently, The Touch & Die Collective is working on a performance by Jules Turner called Commonly Connected. This work explores the notion of solidarity and celebration amongst women and acknowledges the challenges involved in standing together in the face of adverse social conventions and conditions. The intention is that participation in a public display of unanimity and the documentation and dissemination of the performance will demonstrate a sense of sisterhood as the group of women work towards achieving a common goal. Commonly Connected will provide an opportunity for girls and women to participate in a type of large scale event that they otherwise would never be part of.  

Commonly connected is a live performance that involves the collaboration of girls and women drawn primarily from Auckland’s schools and other educational institutions. It involves the plaiting of approximately 300 participants hair together and forming the group into a circle where they will sing and be accompanied by music and drumming.

We hope to raise money for Women's Refuge through sponsorship with this event. 

Fortune Cookie Exchange

Fortune Cookie Exchange was performed at the End of the Year Fair at St Paul St Gallery yesterday. Participants enjoyed writing fortunes and receiving cookies with messages inside. This performance was in response to the pressure of Christmas Shopping and our attempt to meet expectations in our gift buying and exchanging. Jules and I had a great time. Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Melissa getting cookies prepared

Jules ready to bake some fortune cookies

A participant entering the tent/soiree

Constructing the fortune ready for the cookie

Creating fortune cookies

Fresh Fortunes from the oven

Fortune Cookies wrapped and ready to be eaten and read

Art in the Dark 2011

Touch & Die Collective supported two performance works in this years Art in the Dark 2011. When I grow up - by Jules Turner and The Homeless Marae - by Melissa Durbin. Both performances were a great success and completely changed the dynamics of the Art in the Dark event as they gathered crowds and interacted. 

The Homeless Marae roved through upper Western Park much to the audiences delight stopping intermittently to sing songs to listening ears and recite parts of its mihi as a manuhiri attempting to be welcomed and made to feel at home in the park. The Homeless Marae Project is a performance installation that responds to the issues of homelessness, belonging, cultural identity and alienation in New Zealand.

When I grow up was a mesmerising performance art work Jules Turner, Rya Allen, Mandy Alves, Lucy McGall and Nataljer Emeschajmer moved through Western Park in short, choreographed, site specific performances dressed in suits decorated with LED lights. The soundtrack accompanying this piece was composed by Russell Woller.

The work intends to evoke feelings of wonder, confusion and indeterminability as performers traverse from visibility into darkness and interact with the audience, drawing on themes of touch and desire. 

Who are we?

Melissa Durbin and Jules Turner are founding members of Touch & Die. The aim of the collective is to promote creative thinking, art making and performance a variety of issues including gendre, domesticity and hospitality. Public space and informal gatherings provide the context for developing awareness and provoking responses to their work. Durbin and Turner have established a variety of approaches to collaborative practices over recent years and are now committed to initiating group projects that provide opportunities for broader participation in exceptional events. Instigating a sense of community and inclusivity is intended to encourage participants to take risks in order to challenge the status quo and social expectations and perceptions of aspects of our world.