‘GRAPEFRUIT’ – YOKO ONO INSPIRED INSTRUCTIONAL PIECES

Here are seven of my own compositions:

Accomplishment

When it rains go for
a walk in the woods
watch your step on wet rocks
Drive home.

Travelling

Ask a boat for a ride,
if its windy, drive
If your car breaks down, fly.
Get a loved one to drive you home and
break your bike.
Fix your car and repeat.

Senses 1 of 5

Every winter
Slap your cold hand on concrete.

Copyright

Give a stranger a box of your things
In a week’s time return
and ask if they used what’s inside
If they say yes,
ask for it back.

Dishwasher

Say you are a dishwasher
repair person
and when hired,
arrive after dinner and
wash the dishes.
Offer to return tomorrow evening.

Senses 3 of 5

In the spring
plug your nose
Identify a bird with your eyes closed.

Birthday Cake

On a blank piece of paper write
C-A-K-E
and eat it.
Optional: light it on fire and breathe on it.

I physically performed three of these compositions.

‘Travelling’ was performed before writing, and I based the instruction on my experience as a way to summarize, but also to quantify the experience as a lesson or game you can play. I attempted to take the ferry and it was cancelled due to wind. When driving home my car broke down. The next day I flew to my family. My father drove me back to Victoria a week later, and when I went to pick up my car from the mechanic, my bike broke. I repaired my car and have now reset. This composition is a way to identify cycles of luck in our lives, for better or for worse, and to show that you just need to find the start of the cycle, and be prepared to start again.

‘Accomplishment’ was performed on Tuesday, December 8, 2020. It was a very rainy day in Victoria. I went to Mt. Douglas Park and hiked through the woods. There was fog and mist, and sound all around; rain droplets that filtered through fir needles, shuffling to the ground like plinko beads; my rain jacket hood warping and shifting around my head; the rubber soles of my boots sliding on wet rocks. At the summit, I was surrounded in fog, I was alone to anyone else’s sense, lost in a skyward sea of mist. On the way down, I was adamant about carefully traversing the slippery terrain. I made it back to my car and drove home. When I got home, I changed my wet pants and turned on my space heater which rattled when it blew.

Arriving home, I was confronted with comfort and safety, where in the park, comfort was my confidence in my steps.

‘Senses 1 of 5’ was performed Wednesday, December 9, 2020. I went for a walk in the morning when the daytime temperatures had yet to rise. I left my gloves at home. Near the end of the walk, my hands felt stiff, I tried to curl and uncurl my fingers, they moved like snails. When I felt my hands on my face, my cheeks became cold.

I smacked my hand on my concrete driveway.

It gave me a nostalgic feeling of recess in elementary school; in the winters of BC’s interior, playing basketball on an outdoor snow-shoveled court, and tripping in my boots, falling to the ground, my gloveless hands slapping the concrete like a goatskin drum.

It was equally painful and numb. The discomfort was largely not fully feeling the pain. It subsided shortly.

P.S. 

This was a really fun and interesting blog prompt, I thoroughly enjoyed the process of making this.