LAter(ladder)al movement (2019)

Later(ladder)al movement (2019) is an approximately 15 minute long performance. Schoenberg, enters as her character into the space, which is set up with two running large scale projections of found footage of the 2018 Woman’s March, and a ladder at the centre of it. She cautiously climbs up the ladder, sits herself on top, and watches the video until text begins to roll across the screen. The text is monologue (see right), discusses in both literal and abstract ways, the ideas of privilege, capitalism and government regulation through police presence in relation to the failed attempts at revolution in contemporary North America. Once the monologue is delivered, which ends by humming the pop song “She’s a Lady” by Tom Jones, she slowly comes down from the ladder. She then grabs an blank hot pink large sheet of paper, and marches it around the room, until she appears to get bored and walks out of the room.

“I’ve never liked heights. Actually, that’s not true. I didn’t know that I didn’t like heights until I was incredibly high up, and then I looked down and realized how unpleasant falling might be.

And now I am sure I don’t like heights. But heights are quite strategic in that sense. Because something that is equally as unpleasant as being in the high up place is getting down from it. That transition from top to bottom is when the threat seems most prominent. And then at the end you’re just on the ground, and let’s be honest as much as we all wish we could be at the same height, many of us would really rather not be on the ground. Maybe that’s what these boots are for, elevation even at sea level.

So I think I’ll stay up here for a bit.

I sit in my privilege on this fucking island with the luxury of looking down at what is happening below with a critical eye. Because though I may be on defence I am most certainly not in the midst of battle, or so I’ve been told. Perhaps it’s too soon to say that declaratively, certainly I am allowed the privilege of not being drafted on such a public platform. My threat is not imminent, or lethal, it both structures (in the way that it determines my placement) and sustains me.

“Imperial power whispers the names of the struggles in order to charm them into passivity, to construct a mystified image of them, but most important to discover which processes of globalization are possible and which are not” (p.59)

I must say, I’m not sure how I got up here in the first place, I guess just the right place at the right time. I think this ladder was likely here before I was, in fact I’m almost sure of it. But I don’t really remember climbing up here in the first place. Maybe it grew up from under me. Or maybe I happened to drop down and land on it. I could have been carried here by others, some mass of individuals perhaps, or just one really large person. But it probably all comes back to timing, and maybe some flesh. Not too much more though. Other than the snakes which run along the ground and encourage me to stay up here while biting at other people’s ankles.

Look at this, it’s odd to see celebrity here, I wonder how tall their ladders are. They can certainly afford some at greater heights. But it’s not that simple. I didn’t buy my ladder, maybe my parents did, but I was most certainly born on top of it, and it either grew from under me, or I landed on top of it, or I was lifted to it.

What’s key to note is that police presence does not seem nearly as prominent as at some other gatherings, if you know why I mean. (wink, wink) Wanna know why? It’s because this is a legalized, government mandated mass movement. There’s no threat here, just a whole lot of white people with pink signs, hungry for change and leaving this day rather full.

Yum. God I’m hungry, don’t worry though it will pass.

“She’s a lady, woah woah woah she’s a lady, talking about that big lady, and the lady is commodified so as to exert control over her movement and procure profit through enforced lack”

God that is a classic