Throughout the progress of our work, the main vein has always come down to a very specific core idea – that mood is a highly influential aspect of our everyday lives. The way in which we act and react daily, as highly social creatures, it is clear to see that we are greatly effected by moods and the moods of others. Generally, we are influenced, if we originally feel angered by something for example and then walk into a calming atmosphere, such as a dimly lit room with soft aromas and gentle music, we will let that anger and tension slip away from ourselves and instead we will feeling a great sense of calm – thus being directly influenced by the mood of the room. This could also be said to be the case if your are feeling in a particularly good mood and then you are greeted with someone who is feeling grief or sadness – we will usually begin to feel sadness for them. Humans are compassionate for the most part, and so we are susceptible to change our moods to adapt to the needs of a space or the company within the space.
The fact that we are constantly influenced by our mood and others moods, suggests that mood is a highly important experience for us all to acknowledge. The knowledge of how to effect ones mood may lead to being able to control ones emotions expertly, or even the emotions of others. This ability could prove to be a powerful tool to posses and so we, as a group, have felt that it is imperative to explore the different things that cause mood to change, as well as to witness and better understand the effect of these changes on the individual.
The way in which we adapt our mood is subjectively different and unique to individuals and circumstances, and it is this difference which is fascinating and warrants study. The idea that several people could be feeling emotion at the same time but will react differently towards it is what we are aiming to explore through our performance work. Through the idea of instillation, we will aim to discover common ground but also highlight vast differences between people. This knowledge stands as performance in itself, as when we amalgamate these concepts, emotions and situations into one space, the space itself will become a cacophony of conflicting and agreeing moods, which in itself will create a complete atmosphere to the room. What is intriguing about the ideas we have chosen to bring together, the stress relief, the childish play, the kind feelings and then the ultimate loss of all senses, will be to see just what atmosphere this creates. This creation will be completely spontaneous and dependent on the individuals that lend themselves to it.
I feel as though the result of the instillation will prove to be a cathartic experience, once we feel all emotions being drained and new moods created, it will be an emotionally exhausting, yet liberating and exhilarating to the spectators as well as ourselves as spectators of the spectators.