Mussel Memory (2025) is a wearable sculpture and performance body of work that explores the fragmented body as a site of memory, armour, transformation and becoming. The mussel shells serve as both armour and archive. Mussel shells are not only material, but evidence, holding within them the impact of environmental damage. In the performance, I carry the weight of this embedded toxicity and the unseen consequences of ecological harm, while also being reminded of my own fragility and vulnerability within my ageing body.
The activation of the Mussel Sari at Crosby Beach responds to an unresolved incident at the same site; an incident that reminded me of how unsafe I feel, not only as a woman, but also how cultural clothing like a sari can provoke anxieties around culture, immigration and belonging. I wear bells (ghungroos) around my ankles and perform the teentaal tatkar, Indian classical dance (Kathak) steps that I practised for years in my childhood, retracing past movements through muscle memory. I emerge from the sea closer to the shore. I carry the weight of a spent bullet belt on my arm, which speaks to the violence absorbed, held and carried in the female body, like the embedded toxicity in mussel shells from pollution.
The installation of this body of work becomes an archive of memory and resistance. The suspended sari offers a quiet reflection and close scrutiny of the adhered mussel shells and burnt fabric. On the mirror sit objects from the performance, including a cassette tape that holds recordings of my dance practice, something that was once easily accessible, but is now obsolete due to technological advancement. Like the ageing body, accessibility becomes fragmented. The Installation was sonically bound by a subtle soundscape of intermittent bells and waves. Duration: 2:50 with 2:00 silence. total 5:18 (looped).
As part of the installation at Laguna, I propose projecting a video archive of the performance alongside the suspended sari and the accompanying collection of objects. The video, which is 1 minute and 8 seconds in duration, will be presented on an intermittent loop, with five-minute intervals of silence between each playback.
