Collaborative Performance Piece

Of Faint Phonemena - A piece by Lisa Cox and Nikki Flinn

I partnered with performer and writer Nikki Flynn to create a performance for the Surrealist Cabaret. This piece was inspired by foxfire mushrooms, a bioluminescent mushroom, so we were drawn to the idea of reveal, a reveal through the wearable garment and slow reveals throughout the performance.

On stage, the costume initially reads as just brown mushrooms growing across the body. But as Nikki moved, flashes of fluorescent green appeared underneath: along the arms, legs, and back. Halfway through the performance, a black light shifted everything again, revealing an entirely new layer of glowing patterns. Combined with screen projection and Nikki’s spoken word piece, this art piece reflects on the foxfire mushrooms, our impressions in nature, and the juxtaposition between making art and being part of the organic world.

The mushrooms themselves were all hand-felted and wet-felted using wool and silk fibers, combined with natural twine and blacklight paint to create a fully wearable fiber art garment.

This was my second performance collaboration, and I’m incredibly proud of it.

Creative collaboration continues to open doors for me into new techniques and new ideas, so I’m excited to keep that door open and look forward to many more in the future!