Dallas Artist Ends Her Long Journey Inward By Stepping Out of Her Visible Shell
May 13, 2012 – DALLAS – Today, after 48 hours in an inhabitable Plexiglas box, artist Erica Felicella ended her
performance piece entitled, Visible Shell.
The shell was situated on a busy corner in Oak Cliff, behind the Kessler Theater. Felicella used the experience to
sit still in her inner sanctum and contemplate her emotions in a public place, without interacting with onlookers.
Throughout the duration of Visible Shell hundreds of people stopped by to investigate and take part in the piece.
Felicella emerged from the box safely at 5:00 p.m. and was thrilled with the positive response that she received.
“I really hope we start to see more performance art in our city,” said Felicella after walking out of the box. “We have
a lot of amazing spaces and great ideas.”
During her stay in the box Felicella experienced everything from concern during an approaching storm, to anxiousness
to sadness to amusement when overhearing conversations taking place around the perimeter of the shell.
A team of observers was on-site to monitor Felicella, but onlookers were encouraged to sit in a circle around the shell
and experience their own emotions that ranged from appreciation to bewilderment.
“People got it,” said Visible Shell volunteer Kristi Talley of onlooker reaction. “Most people who came by really seemed
to appreciate it and it impacted a lot of people. Families came by, teenagers, adults. There was one elderly couple that sat
on a bench and just watched for two hours.”
“I was very emotional earlier,” Britney Talasek, Visible Shell volunteer said. “When I saw her in the box, not feeling well
was been very sad, but I’m proud of her and was ready to get her out.”
Todd Macauley, Visible Shell volunteer, says participating in Visible Shell has been an inspiration, “To see the physical and
mental toil that she’s gone through to bring her vision of art to Dallas is amazing.”
During the piece Felicella experienced a raging thunderstorm, two chilly evenings and a morning and afternoon of intense
sunshine. As the final minutes approached a crowd of close to 100 supporters gathered to watch Felicella emerge from the shell.
Throughout the duration of the piece, Felicella wrote one sentence (To see myself I went inside my own shell) repeatedly
on sheets of paper, then threw the crumpled papers on the floor of the box. The box, the papers and all other components
of Visible Shell will be saved and used in one of Felicella’s upcoming art projects. Visible Shell is the first of several
large-scale projects that Felicella is planning.
more information:
contact: Erica Felicella
erica@ericafelicella.com
Phone: 214.563.8095 |
