Beating the bounds is a centuries-old tradition, aimed at reminding people of boundaries that were important in their lives. The custom of beating the bounds goes back to the Anglo Saxon period at least. In the days before maps and written title deeds a knowledge of the physical boundaries of property was very important. However much it benefitted wealthy landowners, beating the bounds was also radical, as the act itself relies on large groups of working class adults and children hitting the ground of the place they call home, or work, sometimes aggressively.
The repetitive action is ritualistic and performative and I include the use of my whips, made from recycled bicycle inner-tubes, to lean into the kink reading of a group of queer people performing the tradition. In the case of my own studio, I created a performance that acknowledged the boundaries of our new space; guiding audiences around the site and playing with intervention and trespass (the studio is a temporary site for artists to use in Glasgow City centre, where demolition in the next year is highly likely). As pictured, a group of womxn performers in up-cycled costumes of cleaning utensils, rubber whips and hi-visibility materials, runs through the building, beating perceived boundaries and marking our territory. This is a queer-reimagining of a practice that celebrates place-making and invites audiences to join in.
'There are all too many interests keen to encroach on the margins of our commons and greens. If no one objects in time, it can mean common land is permanently lost. So beating the bounds is just as important today. It reminds your local community that they have a common or green with a boundary to be guarded, and in the process also shows them how much enjoyment and interest the area has to offer. It’s a practical and enjoyable way to protect a valuable part of our heritage.' article link
Performers: Flow Eaglesfield, Fibi Cowley and Emma Lewis-Jones with support from Bili Ess, Gianni Esporas and the collective of artists at Outer Spaces M&S, Glasgow
Images by Kengwu Yerlikaya and Amy Lawrence
