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Nola Diamantopoulos: Quest

07 Dec 2011-17 Dec 2011 ,

Theatre

Critics' choice

Get all your questions answered, sort of, in an experimental performance-art project

First published on 31 Oct 2011. Updated on 18 Dec 2011.

This event has finished

As part of her larger exhibition called Quest, visitors to Rozelle’s Artereal Gallery in December will be invited to participate in a ten-minute written dialogue with artist Nola Diamantopoulos. The willing participant will write one question at a time on a slip of paper for the artist – from the banal to the philosophical in concern – only to have his or her query answered by Diamantopoulos… with another question.

Here is the transcript of our own question-and-answer session – a question-and-answer session that consists entirely of questions rather than answers, mind you – with the artist.

Hi Nola, thank you for agreeing to take some questions from Time Out – how should we begin?

Was there a big bang in the beginning and, if there was, did something collide like the clash of two thoughts or did something explode like the awakening of personal insight?

You don’t muck around, do you? Nola, how can we take control of our own destiny?

Do you know where you are going?

What if we’d prefer not to know?

Could actively choosing to not know where you are going mean you are in control?

Ought we have more hopes than fears or more fears than hopes?

Does hope and fear share the same debilitating energy?

Can we change gears here? It’s natural, isn’t it Nola, that most of us would rather go see what’s on television than engage in philosophical discourse?

Isn’t the fact that we shit also natural?

Do you feel it should also be in our nature to question, enquire, interrogate?

If curiosity is a natural gift we are all born with, to be used to expand the mind and to arouse our imagination, then why do schools only teach us how to learn answers?

You have an answer for everything, don’t you?

Is the answer to everything to be response-able?

What happens if I ask a question like, “What is the deepest known part of the world’s oceans” or, “Which galaxy is closest to the Milky Way?”

If I said to you that Major Dwarf is the galaxy closest to the Milky Way and Mariana Trench is the deepest known part of the world’s ocean, would that information engage you/us as much as if we pondered the idea that there is a place so deep in the ocean’s belly that it is akin to turning Mount Everest upside down in the water and questioning what that might mean, and at the same time is it meaningful to name and map our discoveries so others can follow the trail, continue the exploration, make new connections and grow our sense of wonder and knowing?

All right, well, what if I instead ask what I should have for lunch today (I’m thinking something light)?

What does ‘light’ mean to you? Does it mean light as in ‘easy to digest’, like ice cream, or light in carbs like an apple, or light as in a half-serve, or light as in weight? And would the decision be made easier if a few more motivating words were added after ‘light’ like ‘delicious’, ‘easy to prepare’ or ‘convenient to purchase’ for example?

Wait a minute, Nola – is what we are doing right now art?

If art is the product of a creative process, then do our words and how we use our creation of thoughts and perceptions/beliefs produce a piece of art called ‘me’?

So what happens now?

If I could show you, even if it’s just a glimpse, of the depth of your unique imagination, and how to use it to create with your heart and mind aligned towards an outcome that grows you and those around you, in the workplace, at home, with the local community or the planet, would you still prefer to watch TV?

Can I just say, if I phrase it as question, that this was amazing?

Thank you Darryn…

Aha! Gotcha.

Ask Nola a question on Twitter or visit her blog.

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Words by Darryn King