Pillow Fight: The Artist’s Take
We listened, we talked, we struck and we danced. All in the name of science. The midway event for OOST’s first research Cyclus featured a panel discussion, a pillow fight and club night in one. Today’s second reflection on the event is by the project’s artist in residence and the one who sparked the idea for Pillow Fight: Enrica.
Words by Enrica Arbia / Pictures by Nadiya Vasylyeva
Enrica is a multidisciplinary artist, performer and event organiser. She recently graduated her master’s degree at the Frank Mohr Institute in Interrelational Art Practice. She likes plays, weird shapes, boxing and intense talks about death, and she is this project’s artistic researcher. For the first reflection by Cyclus’ academic researcher Ruby, as well as a general introduction to the midway event, head over here.
From the beginning of my residency in 𝓞𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓒𝔂𝓬𝓵𝓾𝓼
until now, I have perhaps experienced the most chaotic months so far. ᥇𝕣ꫀꪖ𝕜ꪊρડ, f҉i҉r҉e҉s҉, m͎o͎v͎e͎s͎, b̲o̲x̲e̲s̲, g♥r♥e♥e♥t♥i♥n♥g♥s, ꧁farewells꧂, f̶a̶l̶s̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶f̶a̶t̶u̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶, (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ new births ♥,ıllıllı new projects ıllıllı, and anything else you can think of – but aliens. In all this chaos and drama, what kept me afloat, allowing me to breathe just the right amount of oxygen and endure the daily grind, was 🐤😲 м𝔂 ¢ＯⓂⓜᵘ𝓝ⓘ𝐭𝓎 🍧💀 People who, through ¤ (¯´☆✭.¸_)¤ 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑔𝓉𝒽 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒(_¸.✭☆´¯) ¤, managed to help me stand tall with my back straight and head held high, pushing me to do my best and creating branch by branch a warm and welcoming nest where I could rest my head at the end of the evening.
Amid all these personal dynamics, I was also driven by the 𝓞𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓒𝔂𝓬𝓵𝓾𝓼 residency to reflect on how to create a safe environment within a nightclub. How to increase 🐓 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 end 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓅❤𝓃𝓈𝒾𝒷𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎 🎀 without becoming exclusive or boring.
In the first ¤ (¯´☆✭.¸_)¤ ｐᎥⓛ𝐥Ｏᗯ ｆ𝔦g𝕙𝐓 ¤(_¸.✭☆´¯) ¤ event on 🐒💚 ϻⒶＹ ２２nd 🎯💔, we tackled these issues concretely, through panel discussions and Thijs’ exercises, and through the ¤ (¯´☆✭.¸_)¤ ｐᎥⓛ𝐥Ｏᗯ ｆ𝔦g𝕙𝐓 ¤(_¸.✭☆´¯) ¤. As expected from the start, we did not manage to find a single and definitive solution, but rather various solutions through different approaches and methods on how to make a club a safe and enjoyable place.
For example, by creating a team in the club that is aware of how to make people ☆꧁comfortable꧂☆ and how to recognize if people are ᵤₙcₒₘfₒᵣₜₐbₗₑ or trying to raise awareness with the audience, about s͓̽e͓̽x͓̽u͓̽a͓̽l͓̽i͓̽t͓̽y͓̽,͓̽, 『p』『r』『o』『t』『e』『c』『t』『i』『o』『n』 and consent.
[̲̅T][̲̅h][̲̅e] [̲̅p][̲̅a][̲̅n][̲̅e][̲̅l] [̲̅d][̲̅i][̲̅s][̲̅c][̲̅u][̲̅s][̲̅s][̲̅i][̲̅o][̲̅n] left the audience—and if not them, then at least me—with some notes on how to help create a ⓢⓐⓕⓔ ⓔⓝⓥⓘⓡⓞⓝⓜⓔⓝⓣ without the need to 【ｅｘｃｌｕｄｅ】 anyone. But we know that these notes can only be a starting point and not the end one.
The ｐᎥⓛ𝐥Ｏᗯ ｆ𝔦g𝕙𝐓 քҽɾƒօɾʍąղçҽ was, for me, a moment of release, even just to watch. After some hesitation about whether hitting each other with pillows was “c̾r̾i̾n̾g̾e̾” or “❄️cool❄️,” the participants threw themselves into the fray rather violently. But pillows don’t hurt unless the zipper hits you in the ǝʎǝ…
The pillow fight was a Ｍ𝔢Ŧά𝐩𝔥𝔬ᖇ, and perhaps for a moment even a ｕｔｏｐｉａｎ vision, of everyone expressing themselves violently without physically h͓̽u͓̽r͓̽t͓̽i͓̽n͓̽g͓̽ anyone. But ｕｔｏｐｉａ by definition finds no place in reality.
In the next episode, we will continue—as we have in all previous episodes—to seek solutions and methods for inclusion, attentiveness, and safety.
In the meantime, I want to remind myself that, in the end, what makes my 𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕗𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕓 is a ¢ＯⓂⓜᵘ𝓝ⓘ𝐭𝓎 that sees me as an individual, a community driven by a love for (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ music and art ♥.
✮: 🎀 𝒫.𝒮. 🎀 :✮
I know that this research won’t be able to change the approach some people have towards ღ(¯`◕‿◕´¯) ♫ ♪ ♫ festivals and clubs ♫ ♪ ♫ (¯`◕‿◕´¯)ღ, but I’m g҉ r҉ a҉ t҉ e҉ f҉ u҉ l҉ to be in an environment that allows me to discuss these topics and encourages me to think about solutions or imagine ｕｔｏｐｉａｓ.
(¯`*•.¸,¤°´✿.｡.:* Enrica Arbia *.:｡.✿`°¤,¸.•*´¯)
Enrica documented the night from her perspective, the video material of which you can see below. Visitors were offered to wear a sticker on their jacket, which indicated that they didn’t want to be filmed or photographed.
The first cycle started in January 2024 and will run until August 2024. At the end of this Cycle, Ruby and Enrica’s work will be made available by means of a publication in image and text. More on that later.
Cyclus is made possible by contributions of the Kunstraad.