In Fragments

For generations, Jonathan Harris’s family has owned a country house in Shelburne, Vermont: a large farm with magnificent natural surroundings near the Canadian border. But there’s a great deal of history attached to this place, and not all of it is positive. Despite its beauty, the farm holds a legacy of alcoholism, divorce, depression and other kinds of isolating behavior. After his mother died in early 2016, Jonathan inherited the farm along with his sister. Hoping to build a life of his own there, but not wanting to repeat the patterns of history, Harris has been conducting a series of purification rituals to heal the land and his family, to prepare for the best possible future. Though partly autobiographical, these performances also tap into a deeper and more universal undercurrent. Many of them have a physical aspect and incorporate the transformation of materials, such as making glass. In this fragmented reflection on the mind and history, the performances should be interpreted as parts of a fragile work in progress, and an intimate glimpse into Harris's psyche.