Emergence, 2024
Performance and textiles installation by Lex R. Thomas and Bethany Lejeune
EMERGENCE is a durational performance and installation that examines the relentless expectations of motherhood and caregiving attached to AFAB individuals, exploring creation, destruction, and bodily autonomy.
Set within a womb-like environment, the installation features a single performer occupying an altar-like platform made of textile “flesh and blood”, embodying discomfort as both a physical and emotional response to the societal demands for productivity. On the walls, surrounding the performer are soft sculptures and paintings by Bethany LeJeune, which explore the tension between fragility and resilience, severance and connection. Organic forms crafted from yarn and stockings—suspended by fishing line—flesh, memory, and blood, speaks to both communal interdependence and isolation.
At the heart of the piece, the performer (Lex R. Thomas) embodies endurance, their discomfort becoming a visceral focal point that invites empathy and introspection. Amplified by the droning soundscape of noconstant.wav, the cyclical, often unseen burdens of caregiving and the societal pressures of expected motherhood is brought forth to the viewer.
Outfitted in a “nude” bodysuit adorned with intricate crochet embellishments collaboratively created by Lex R. Thomas and Louis Deumite, the performer interacts with a needle-felted heart—a movable installation element crafted by Deumite. This heart, symbolising vulnerability and connection, is both attached to and detached from the performer’s chest, heightening the themes of sacrifice and autonomy central to EMERGENCE.
EMERGENCE invites viewers to reflect on the weight of transformation, vulnerability, and sacrifice. It is a deeply introspective work that balances intimacy and discomfort, challenging conventional narratives and highlighting the unseen complexities of navigating societal expectations.
as a part of ARCHIVES X LOUDHOUSE
Installation Design: Lex R. Thomas and Bethany Lejeune
Audio Design: Matthew Thomas (noconstant.wav)
Costume, Crochet, and Needlefelt Elements: Louis Deumite
Performed by: Lex R. Thomas
Photographed by: Brett Hebert