RED TIDE
Tamara Wyndham
July 22, 1989
Kate Millett Art Colony,
Poughkeepsie, New York
The stage set was entirely
white: white walls, a white sheet
of paper on the wall, a small
table with a white tablecloth. On
the table was a white teapot and a
white carton of white eggs, a
metal egg beater and a clear glass
bowl. I was dressed in a white T
shirt and white drawstring pants.
I had memorized the following
text, which is a combination of a
childhood memory and a dream. As I
spoke it, I made a charcoal
drawing on the paper of what I was
speaking about, starting with the
ocean, then the clouds, the rain,
the elephant, the golden disks and
the hibiscus.
I performed this work on the
heavy day of my period. I wore no
underwear and no tampon nor
napkin, so that I bled onto my
pants as I performed.
When I finished speaking the
text, I went outside and quickly
took off my clothes, then
re-entered naked, with my internal
organs painted on the front of my
torso. Without speaking, I took an
egg from the carton and broke it
into the bowl. Inside the eggshell
was not egg, but my own menstrual
blood. From the teapot I poured
red hibiscus tea into the bowl
with the blood. I whisked it
together, and then drank it.
TEXT:
On the coast of California where I
grew up, one day when I was a girl,
the ocean turned red. It was a dark
brownish red, the color of old
blood. A foul fish smell filled the
air, for thousands of dead fish had
washed ashore the beaches.
A shift in the climate had caused
the temperature of the ocean to
warm. In this warm water, billions
of phytoplankton, tiny organisms
halfway between plant and animal,
reproduce rapidly. They crowd toward
the surface to receive sunlight, and
the density of their great numbers
discolors the water. My mother told
me that they killed the fish by
using up all of the oxygen in the
water; but actually they produce one
of the most toxic poisons known.
My mother was curious and took me
to the beach to look at the dead
fish and the red water. I was
fascinated. But she would not let me
play in the water nor touch the
fish.
The warm ocean water evaporates,
and condenses high in the air to
form cumulus clouds. The cumulus
build up rapidly into tall towers
called castelllanus. The clouds
become saturated, and a heavy rain
falls and clears the air of the dead
fish smell.
The tide recedes, and in the
distance, a gigantic elephant rises
from the ocean. She is huge and
magnificent, and is an omen of great
changes in the world, and of danger.
She moves slowly through the water
toward the shore and into the
town,lifting her great feet gently
as she walks down the street past
the house where I lived. She walks
calmly and magnificently, causing no
harm. The people keep at a distance
and watch cautiously.
Now, two great golden disks, of
thirty feet diameter, representing
the planets Jupiter and Saturn, roll
down the street. One from West to
East, the other from East to West.
They cross paths right in front of
where I am standing, in front of my
house. This signifies that the sea
will flood the land.
At this point, it is revealed to me
that a certain flower, a red
hibiscus flower, will be of great
help and importance in the coming
years. This flower is known in many
parts of the world, and a sharp red
tea is made from its petals.
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