Curator tour of “Sarah Cameron Sunde: 36.5 / A Durational Performance with the Sea”

Jeffrey Richmond-Moll, curator of American art, gives a short tour of “36.5 / A Durational Performance with the Sea,” a series of nine site-specific participatory performances and video works by the interdisciplinary artist Sarah Cameron Sunde, spanning six continents and seven years (2013 – 2020). At each site, Sunde stands in ocean water for a full tidal cycle (12 to 13 hours) as the water rises up to her chin, then recedes to her feet; the local community participates in all aspects of the work. The entire performance is filmed in real time, turned into a durational video work of the same length and shown as a multi-channel video installation that premieres on location within a week of the performance. This exhibition features a cycle of four multi-channel videos, one from each location where Sunde has performed since 2015: the Netherlands (on view September 19 – October 18, 2020), Bangladesh (on view October 22 – November 22, 2020), Brazil (on view November 26 – December 20, 2020) and Kenya (on view December 24, 2020 – January 17, 2021). “36.5” generates personal, local and global conversations about deep time and sea-level rise. It is a radical call to reconsider our relationship with water as individuals, as communities and as a species. For more information about the project, visit www.36pt5.org.