Who slept here?
Deb Todd Wheeler and Sue Murad prowl the rooms and hallways of historic homes to create their upcoming participatory performance NO SLEEPING.
Our lives accumulate in our homes. We leave traces of them there when we go. Think of that last, bittersweet look at an emptied bedroom as you prepare move. Even without the furniture, the clothing, the books, any bedroom is a vessel of memories, of pasts that still feel alive and vital. Similarly, there are the preserved rooms and keepsakes: An untouched bedroom or the favorite spoon of a lost family member. We hold onto those who have gone by returning to their spaces, touching their belongings.
NO SLEEPING, about that palpable presence so acutely characterized by absence and the gulf of time, is a participatory art project that will take place in historic house museums. Artists Deb Todd Wheeler and Sue Murad have been touring Boston-area historic homes to find just the right places to stage NO SLEEPING, which will involve soundscapes, video projection, observational activities, and a simple dinner. Small audiences will be invited to explore the felt memory of a place.
In March, I toured Forbes House Museum in Milton with Sue, Deb, and our guide, docent Marie O’Malley. The house dates back to 1833, when two Forbes brothers involved in the China trade built it as a memorial for their oldest brother, who had died at sea in a typhoon. It’s full of curiosities – a telephone in the bathroom; a log cabin out back; a painting of the Chinese hong merchant Houqua.
We all noticed little objects and juxtapositions that struck us, evoking a story and some mystery, that Marie’s history left out. That’s the experience Deb and Sue intend to highlight in NO SLEEPING.
“There’s a tour like we just went on — we’re really visitors that are learning about the details and the history of the family,” Sue said. “With our tour it’s almost the flip of that, where the visitors are invited to share their story, their view, or what they’re seeing as poignant, interesting. Curious.”
NO SLEEPING is still seeking historic houses to partner with. But the artists are rolling out their participatory performance twice a month (sign up here) starting in June, and they’ll visit several different homes. Sue and Deb are this week’s Working Artists in the Globe – where they had plenty more to say about the project.