Through the Sunken Gardens

Studying with a William and Mary student in the Sunken Gardens

"You two are just wonderful!"

After the Mercury Expo, the masks travelled through the Sunken Gardens, towards the Mercurial Roadshow. They spent a long time in the Sunken Gardens, travelled through the Wren Building, and into Merchants Square where Art on the Square was happening! This was a great continuation of the question of context! Who was ready to see the masks and who wasn't?

The woman pictured above was one of the first people the masks encountered who was very invested in playing with them. "You two are just wonderful," "Beautiful," "I just love you," were some of the many words of praise and amazement coming from this woman. She was ready to see some moving art and was obviously open to the experience.

By the time the masks arrived at Art on the Square, they were well warmed up after exploring through the Sunken Gardens and in the Wren Building, so they were ready to play, as well! In the Sunken Gardens, they didn't encounter too many people, but they were exposed to a new environment with different stimuli. A party tent with plastic windows provided an interesting playing space for a while. After that, they met a few William and Mary students who, although putting on a pretense of studying, seemed ready for a distraction!

The Christopher Wren Building also provided an interesting space to play. The masks approached a tour group going through, giving them flowers and leaves they had collected on their way through the sunken gardens. The guide played along, introducing the masks as mimes, "apparently, we have mimes today..." "They are visiting from Sweden," was my response when given a quizzical look from a tourist. Most times, that seemed to explain it all!

Art on the Square was a much different experience. There were hundreds of people and the masks were ready to play! In addition to the woman in the first picture, the masks enjoyed playing hide and seek with several young children. "It's a mask!" cried one little boy. Over and over and over again. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing, he was so excited! They learned to soften up their play if they noticed smaller children getting nervous. As far as I could tell, no one cried. They stopped for a while to dance next to a booth selling wooden flutes. A small crowd gathered around. I think the pipe vendor was pleasantly surprised that people were actually responding to the live music in his booth! Many people muttered something about, "it must be an experiment." I explained the exchange to those who seemed interested, and they were intrigued and happy to be a part of an international performance exchange.

Context. These people were all out on a beautiful day. They were at Merchants Square to buy lovely things, eat local food, and be entertained. They were the masks' best audience by far!

Party tent in the Sunken Gardens

Mirror?

Looking Glass

Play.

William and Mary students looking for a distraction!