Astonishing things happened the weekend before last. The Core Creative Team behind Strange Factories were, it was said, gripped by "obsession, hallucinations and mania". We shunned both the Sun and sleep in order to conduct the Secrets, Dreams and Storytelling Tweetathon for our beloved Stronheim. Many thanks to all who contributed their fragments and put themselves forwards for Stronheim's Tombola. For all of those suffering withdrawal symptoms (I know there several known cases here at FP HQ) we have compiled something of a "Greatest Hits of Tweetathon I" for your entertainment and enlightenment!
Throughout the Tweetathon, members of the Strange Factories team recalled some extraordinary experiences from their time with FoolishPeople. These previously untold demented, hilarious and disturbing tales served to construct and reveal a narrative history of FoolishPeople through the eyes of the individuals who have lived it:
- For the first time in my life someone asked me questions I even didn’t know how desperately I needed to be asked but I knew that in that moment my future shifted, my life changed and I became Foolish…
- One of the most powerful currents I've been caught up in was 'Desecration' that we performed at the Galleries of Justice. On the last performance, I think it would be safe to say that one of the performers was possessed by something other. He was knelt on the floor, tearing the rancid meat between his teeth, with his eyes completely glazed over...
- I turn up at their test site with a famous fetish model and suddenly you realise that life can be far weirder than any fiction you can imagine.
- I knelt down with my bucket and sponge and began to clean shit from the stage of the ICA.
- I was once chased by a wolf deep in the Czech countryside. No joke. He could have taken my blood without remorse. I ran like I’ve never ran in my entire life. It came from somewhere. FP has taken me to places within myself that I didn't even know existed. Looking at the darkest parts of myself with a defiant grin.
- Left on my own in the gallery as night fell, I hallucinated that Lilith had sprung out of Otaiti + was now slung over my shoulder in a sack. I carried Lilith across Blackfriars Bridge in that sack, heaved her along the banks of the Thames, felt her writhing as I carried her burden.
- I always suspected that casting me as an actress was an elaborate ploy to use me as a ritual sacrifice! Being shut into a coffin doesn't do anything for your nerves when you feel there could be a possibility of being killed...
The very essence of the work FoolishPeople undertakes was revealed:
-FP offers a ritual space that allows us to slough off and clear away the parts of ourselves that we’ve mistakenly identified as ‘us’. Once you’ve undergone this process it’s easier to see what you need to be happy, rather than what you think you need to be happy.
-Forced to confronted everything you are, and forced to question yourself and the way you live your life. This process is the very essence of our work, as you become the fool archetype, stepping off the cliff.
We also exposed many beautiful thoughts, fragments, dreams and secrets from all over the world. All of these will remain with us but here are a few highlights we've picked out:
-True anarchy is freedom of the soul, regardless of societal constraints, the daring to be a true representation of one’s will.
-Does your spirit know that you almost didn’t become?
- I awaken with the peppery, florid aftertaste of that fantastical flesh on my tongue, a lingering ember.
-I was about to be ‘touched’ by an 80 year old man!
- Duck down between the pause in the beats of your heart and you’ll find the answer to your own riddle
Many thanks again to everybody took part, your responses and enthusiasm (along with copious amounts of caffeine!) really did keep us going over that marathon weekend of collating, dreaming and typing. This was more than just a Tweetathon, it was the preservation of our collective histories; yours and ours. After all, we are all Memories of Events Yet to Occur.
The Strange Factories team are now preparing for the final installment of the Secrets, Dreams and Storytelling Tweetathon. Get your fragments in early by emailing them to [email protected]. Remember you could win a stay at Stronheim's mansion in the beautiful Czech countryside.We'll preserve your anonymity so there's no need to be shy! For full details click here.
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