The Strange Dichotomy of Silence (Performance, 20 minutes, Moncton, Canada, 02007)

Crédit photo / photo credit : Jennifer Bélanger

The Strange Dichotomy of Silence (Performance, 20 minutes, :20 Minute Workout Performance Festival (Galerie Sans Nom / Imago), Moncton Public Library, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, May 02007)

Silence exists, in a library setting, out of respect for and by the people that use it. Instruction, acquisition of knowledge, relaxation and thinking are all reasons for which we visit libraries. These instances are usually done in silence. Those who are silent, think. Those who are silent may not want to express their ideas or opinions for lack of confidence or knowledge. We banish books in order to silence a population. When we read, we are silent, absorbed into a literary world; therefore rendering the outside world silent. Illiteracy is silence. Literacy is, also, a type of silence.

During this performance, in my own silence, I fence myself in with my personal collection of books.