AN ACT OF SHEATING

At the end of the market, vendors are making their big sunshades ready for transport by covering them with a protective sheet. Blue, white, striped – these large umbrellas are as varied and individual as the vendors working them into their mismatched coverings. The vendors demonstrate a range of approaches to the task, as well as varying levels of clumsiness, dexterity and familiarity with the task. This much-repeated element of a regular routine is both mundane and contemplative, achieving an almost prayer-like quality. What are they thinking and dreaming as they manoeuvre their shelters into its own protective covering? ’An act of sheating’ was originally developed as an addition to a photo-installation by Pacquée.