Simon mentions that this performance piece was discussed around the dinner table at the Abranowicz-Raisfeld ski house, in Upstate NY the other weekend. Didn’t recall that I had actually mentioned it to anyone. Magga and I were on a three-month driving trip to France, Italy, Germany, and Denmark, and were in the French Alps for a time. The performance came together spontaneously during a picnic of baguettes, a variety of fromages fins, some wine, (c’est typique, touristique). I recall we were seated on rocks — a curious ‘elephant hide’ manifestation of dolomite — and were instantly plagued by hundreds of very large ants. Taking the rinds of some of the cheeses, I wrote on the rock in large lower-case cursive letters: je suis (I am). I did not document the process itself: the photos document the aftermath prior to our abandoning the site.
je suis was a spontaneous nod to Duchamp, to be-ing, to consuming, and to the beastly nature of nature.
