Extraordinary

http://polaroid41.com/extraordinary/

Tuesday, April 20th, 2021 - 3:47pm.

I’m part of a UK based network for mothers/artists called “Mothers Who Make.” Last Wednesday a woman named Magali Bancel posted a photo and a link to a piece she created called “Flying Over the Wind.” The photo (used here with her permission) grabbed my attention: the improbable image of a woman flying, weightless over five other people seeming to support her with the power from electric table fans.

She shared that this performance was given when her youngest child was only a few months old and that when she looks at it, she feels the great contrast between the heaviness she felt in her life (sleepless nights, body in need of reconstruction) and the lightness she expressed on stage. I loved her honesty and when I showed the video to my son, who was duly amazed, I said: “She’s a mom!” It felt important to tell him that.

The same Wednesday that I came across Magali’s video, I was out walking with a friend of mine. She’s a circus artist specializing in aerial rope but at the moment she is taking a course in ‘magie nouvelle’ at the CNAC (the National Center for the Circus Arts)...yes, basically, she’s going to magic school. She told me that they are covering lots of different aspects of magic including “sleight of hand,” which she finds extremely stressful as it requires a high degree of ‘acting,’ as well as illusions and making magic from ordinary objects or situations. I immediately thought of Magali’s piece and we stopped in the middle of the sidewalk so I could show it to her on my phone. I hadn’t thought of ‘Flying Over the Wind’ as “magic,” in my mind it was dance or performance, but indeed, the piece is magical.

It’s magical that a tired new mother who can hardly drag herself through the day, can fly on stage. It’s even more magical that she dreamed up the concept in the first place and then gathered a team of performers, musicians and technicians to make her vision a reality on stage. Beyond that, these days it also feels magical that people left their homes, came to a theatre and sat side by side together to watch her fly.

Several days have gone by, and I’m still thinking about it. I checked back and saw that the youtube link has been viewed over 22,000 times in the week since she uploaded it. The comments range from “This is incredible!!!” to “People. Get over it. This is fake.” The best comments though are somewhere in between, those which recognize the skill and beauty of the piece without needing to question or judge the realness and feasibility of the performance.

What’s ‘real’?

Is it real if you want it to be?

If you believe it?

If you feel something?

Does it matter how she did it? I reached out to her before writing this and I had absolutely no desire to question her about how she made it happen. It’s the ‘magic of ordinary objects’ that my friend was telling me about. Watching Magali fly above the table fans is the kind of magic that feels so close I can taste it. It seems only just barely out of reach, like maybe any of us could fly…

Photo credit: Maryam Barari

“Flying Over the Wind” by Magali Bancel & Mattias Lindström

The complete 'polaroid' - text, minicast and photo - available at: http://polaroid41.com/extraordinary/