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Performance Art Reveals the Passage of Time and Past Identity


UK-based artist Sarah Sanders exhibits great discipline and documents the passage of time as she continually writes on the ground for her performance piece titled I used to. The artist presents a ritualistic process to address themes of time, memory, identity, and evolution through repetition. She slowly moves through her designated space as the words unfurl from her mind, revealing her past self.

The performance piece features the application of text and movement through a space to physically demonstrate the progression of time. It is simultaneously informative about the artist's own perception of her past self. Each line in her written installation begins with “I used to” and is followed either by a description of something she has done or words that define her past self. Like a public self-examination, the piece is a revealing documentation of identity and change.



Photo credit: Nick Leyland
Sarah Sanders website
via [Visual Poetry]

Pinar

Pinar Noorata (she/her) is the Editorial Director at My Modern Met. She is a writer, editor, and content creator based in Brooklyn, New York. She earned her BA in Film and Media Studies from CUNY Hunter College. She has worked at major TV, film, and publishing companies as well as other independent media businesses. She also runs her own art & culture newsletter called The High Low. She first joined the My Modern Met team in 2011 as a Contributing Writer, pitching and publishing articles about a wide range of topics. Her expertise in visual media lends itself to in-depth analysis of varied art forms, including but not limited to painting, illustration, sculpture, installation, design, and photography. Pinar has a particular affinity for spotlighting up-and-coming artists, affording them a platform and offering a voice to lesser-heard individuals looking to break through, especially BIPOC creatives. She has helped multiple artists make a name for themselves and reach a wider audience over 10+ years as a writer and editor (both through long-form articles and short-form videos). When she isn’t writing, editing, or creating videos herself, Pinar enjoys watching films and TV, reading, crafting, drawing, frequenting museums and galleries, and volunteering at her local animal shelter.
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