Floating/Drowning, a collective performance art action by Monica Jahan Bose
with One Billion Rising and many others
December 2, 2016, 1-3 pm, Satellite Art Show @ Parisian Hotel, 1510 Collins Ave and the beach, Miami Beach, Florida

খরবায়ু বয় বেগে, চারি দিক ছায় মেঘে,
ওগো নেয়ে (Nari), নাওখানি বাইয়ো ।
তুমি কষে ধরো হাল, আমি তুলে বাঁধি পাল—
হাঁই মারো, মারো টান হাঁইয়ো ॥

Song by Ravindranath Tagore, translation:
Strong winds are blowing, the whole sky is canopied by clouds,
O woman take the oars and row.
You hold the ropes tight, I’ll hoist the sail,
Let’s pull, let’s pull, let’s pull! (Monica has replaced the word “boatman” for “woman” or Nari)

Singing, writing, sewing, building, nailing, floating, drowning, bailing water, carrying a massive sari, stopping traffic, laboring together. We came together to insist on stopping climate change, to create a people to people agreement on climate, to reduce our use of fossil fuels, each one individually and together with our communities.

Performance assistants: Farhana Akhter, Marya Meyer, Kathryn Villano, Juanita-marie Franklin (vocals), Nitin Mukul, Leah Stoddard, Natalia Nakazawa, Diane Adkins, Wendy Renshaw-Lewis, Kate Renshaw-Lewis and more.

Photo credit: Ben Droz.
Copyright 2016, Monica Jahan Bose, all rights reserved.