Photograph by Benjamin Chadbond
The Late Night Lei Exchange
2013
Performance
Mixed Media, Rattan Peacock Chair
Dimensions Variable
A lei, by definition is any series of objects strung together with the intent to be worn. It has been traced back to ancient Hawaiian tradition, worn as an adornment to signify beauty and cultural distinctiveness. The custom of presenting lei upon arrival or leaving is a symbol of love, affection, peace, friendship and best wishes. It is created by someone and given to another with the intent to decorate that person for an emotional reason.
The Late Night Lei Exchange is a performance which explores the lei ritual, ethnicity and the reciprocity of giving. Audience members are invited to make garlands and to present them to the performer. In the giving and receiving of lei, the act of performing is transferred to the participant in a momentary exchange of gesture, emotion and culture. The performance will take place to instrumental excerpts from Jeremih’s Late Nights mixtape (2012), and will end once the performer has been lei’d by every possible person in the room.