One Year and Twenty Four Days of Fishing, 2010-11
I carried a fishing rod and wore rubber boots everywhere for one year and twenty-four days. The fishing rod was the catalyst that promoted spontaneous reactions from people, more often than not random strangers, who asked where I was fishing and what I was fishing for. When people approached me, many did so with a sense of familiarity and said things like, ‘I’ve seen you four or five times now with that fishing rod...’ Often conversations that began with the fishing rod ended, at times hours later, building a sense of connectedness between strangers.
Alternatively, there were occasions that I was denied access to select establishments and made to feel unwelcome in various social situations. More often than not, I was denied access when the fishing rod was perceived a potential weapon or the combination of my boots and fishing rod did not meet specified dress code requirements. Wherein the social situations that I found myself to be unwelcome, strangers reacted defensively toward me and would speak in a sarcastic tone to inform me that my actions were neither appropriate, acceptable nor amusing, some said things like, ‘I know what you’re fishing for, you’re fishing for attention.’
Fundamentally, this ongoing performance embraced the absurd to engage the everyday.
