RISE berlin is pleased to present "The Two of Us" a live performance and exhibition by the French artist Jon John.
With "The Two Us" Jon explores themes of love and loss, the resilience of broken heart and our yearning to heal and love again. For Jon John the act of love is one of the last surviving ecstatic rituals in our disposable society.
As Jon begins his performance he is naked (honest) except for several strings of pearls, he is bleeding via a venous cannula into several empty vials. By his side is a glass of milk and some cut white roses and the floor is covered with a large white cloth. As the audience enters the space each person is given a single pearl. They are invited to place their fingers and the pearl in Jon’s moist mouth. This shared moment of intimacy is somewhere between Holy Communion and a sexual act. Jon uses the milk to swallow the pearl; the moment is sealed. The thirsty roses are placed into the blood filled vials, over time as they drink the petals will change to pink. These romantic symbols become accomplices in this love story.
As the blood continues to flow Jon kneels on the cloth, using the cannula as a makeshift quill he begins to write.
Literally pouring out his heart as a living prayer his " ecrits pourpes" (purple writing). Writing over and over "the 2 of us" a hypnotic mantra each drop filled with emotion a poem, a spell a paean for love. With each sentence Jon becomes weaker.
As the writing covers the cloth Jon’s body protests, by now he has lost a lot of blood, it becomes thicker, sticky and much darker. By this stage breathing is labored, his heartbeat is erratic and a black halo enters his vision, but passion is stronger than the physical body. Jon begins to chant an audio manifestation of his hypnotic poem he continues for as long as he can the performance ends when there is no more to give.
The intense physicality and emotional depth of Jons practice has been thrilling and inspiring international audiences for ten years. Jon draws inspiration from many cultures and religious rituals throughout history. A young veteran of the body modification “scene” Jon has collaborated with notable artist such as Ron Athey, Kiril Bikov and Juano Diaz.
Jon lives and works in Berlin.
