Pigs have a wide-angle 310o vision, which allows them to see behind themselves without turning their heads. They are easily distracted by objects to the front and to the sides and if they can see a gap, they are likely to try and get through it. Pigs are distracted by sharp changes in floor texture and appearance. They will baulk at sharp changes in slope and will only proceed if sure-footing is available. They prefer to go up rather than down a slope and are unsure about changes in flooring e.g going over gaps or hollow-sounding boards covering a drain in a concrete floor. Pigs will stop or baulk at sudden changes in lighting conditions such as a shaft of sunlight or a shadow across a pathway.
BAULK (live)
At some point in 2007, I came across a text about pigs' behavioral characteristics.
At the time, I felt great familiarity with some of their ways...
Inspired by the work on Sophie Calle, Linda Montano and Marina Abramovic in 2007 I wrote and performed Baulk, a confession directed to a selected audience from Dartington College of Arts.
The performance addressed issues of intimacy between myself and my audience through the exposure of my vulnerability as both an individual and an artist. Primarily created in order to "(...) meet and overcome the apparent limitations of daily life" (L.Montano), Baulk was both a kind of exorcism and a point of departure.
