I Take Your Hand
These two matching suits both have one “normal” gloved arm, while the other arm is stuffed, extending 50 feet with a hand at the end. When coiled, the suits resemble soft nests or bulging bodies with numerous tummy rolls.
I performed “I Take Your Hand” with my lover when I was 7 months pregnant. Starting out at opposite ends of the apartment, we made our way toward each other, dragging our heavy arms on the floor through multiple rooms. Once at center, we began to wrap them around each other. As it quickly became impossible to see, we had to communicate when and how to pass the arms around our bodies, additionally asking others for help when too constricted to reach ourselves.
Eventually, we came to this imperfectly coiled hug, with tangled loops of arm falling to the floor around our ankles. The untangling required more communication. “Pass it over my left, no, your left, you got it? Yes, that’s it, step over, wait, wait, one more, be careful…”