World Puzzle is a performance I wrote after a period of great loss. I needed to gather back pieces of myself which went missing along the way somewhere, and I called upon an audience to help me.
In the performance, I recreate a dream I had where the world is coming to an end. In the dream, the air has become too full of carbon and all life is going to die. We wait and we wait to die, but we don't die. We continue to live. In the performance, I ask the participants to assemble a puzzle of the earth on my belly. We are surrounded on all sides by the busts of Colonial Figures. Halfway into the puzzle the participants discover that some of the puzzle pieces are missing. I instruct them to smash the busts to find the remaining pieces hidden inside. Participants are then able to complete the puzzle.
Full text of the performance:
1.) INTRODUCTION
[Lights Are On, projections are dimmed]
JAIMES: I would like to welcome you to this happening, called World Puzzle. This is a highly interactive happening. You will be asked to participate – though of course, you are welcome to stand back and simply observe if that feels more comfortable to you.
Some words on the content of this piece which might be sensitive for some. Firstly, this event will be filmed. If you do not wish to be on camera, please let the documentarian know.
Other things: You will be asked to be in close physical proximity to others, and there will be some destruction of objects.
You can choose to participate, then step back, then participate again, just please be mindful of those who are concentrating on the piece.
And lastly, this is an experiment. It has never been tried before.
I appreciate your engagement and support.
2.) WATER DREAM
JAIMES: I would like to invite everyone to close their eyes. We will sit in meditation for one minute, and then I will begin to tell you a story. Please keep your eyes closed until you hear the sound of ocean.
[SIT IN SILENCE FOR ONE MINUTE]
JAIMES: On December 2, 2016, I had a dream. The whole world has been told it’s the last day of life on earth. The last day. The parts per million of carbon in the air has reached it’s absolute maximum level. After this day, the air around us will no longer be able to support oxygen.
I am in a small european city which feels like a town. Things feel quaint. There are bakeries and shops...little buildings.
And all of us citizens are in our own homes, waiting to die, doing what we can to say goodbye to this earthly life. I am in my home, waiting to die. I have the window shades drawn, and am watching the light from outside play on the walls as I consider death. I feel all the grief of letting go of life. But I also feel curiosity of what it will be like to emerge from my body and go to the afterlife.
I close my eyes and imagine what it will feel like for my body to escape into billions of tiny particles, or lose consciousness, or whatever happens when you die.
And then, I don’t die.
2a.) [OCEAN WAVES SOUND COMES ON]
[LIGHTS GO OUT]
When I open my eyes, I am lying on a raft in the middle of the ocean. The water stretches out as far as the eye can see.
My friends are kneeling over me, assembling a puzzle on my belly. They are smiling, and joyful. Off on the horizon, there is a tree growing out of the water, with a treehouse inside. It is our house.
But the air looks strange. On closer inspection, I see that there are tiny rainbows floating in the air. At first I don’t understand, but then I realize that they are the sunlight refracting in the carbon that should be too thick for us to breathe.
But we don’t die. They said today was the last day of life on earth, but we don’t die. There’s a promise, somehow, from the world at large, that we are all going to be okay, and we get a new chance at life.
3.) PUZZLE
JAIMES: I would like to invite you to open your eyes and join me in recreating my dream. I am going to lie down on this raft and invite you to come assemble this puzzle on my belly. You can come and go as you assemble it. As I’m laying down, I will offer instructions, so please listen for my voice.
Don’t be shy!
[JAIMES PUTS ON PUZZLE APRON]
[JAIMES GOES TO LIE DOWN ON THE RAFT]
4.) PEOPLE ASSEMBLE THE PUZZLE.
THEY RUN OUT OF PIECES
JAIMES: This might be a good time to tell you that not all of the puzzle pieces are here. There are 7 pieces inside the busts. You need to smash them in order to get the pieces out. You may smash them in the main area of the room. Safety goggles, hammers and flashlights are provided on the bench.
As you look for the missing pieces, I ask you to reflect on a piece of yourself that may have gotten lost over time. If you want, you can vocalize it by telling me what it is you want to call back to yourself.
5.) PEOPLE SMASH THE BUSTS
[The puzzle is put together]
JAIMES: Thank you. The end.