Ethereal Hangover
On the eve of the Perth-leg of Larinda’s Debut Tour, Luisa and Larinda chat over toast and coffee. They are both hungover from a party the night before; tired and reflective, they talk about how Larinda came to be and ethereal gestures that keep you afloat.
Luisa: Larinda! Can we pinky promise to only do ethereal things while we’re on tour, everything else gets blitzed!
Larinda: Oh my god, perfect! (They pinky promise)
Hey, do you think you were blitzing some things when you made me? Like maybe you had to make me to blitz some feelings that were holding you back? Or blitz things to make me?
Luisa: Totally! I had just gone through the hardest year of my life and thought, fuck it, I’m blitzing everything and making Larinda.
Larinda: (buttering toast, contemplating) Wow, that’s deep Lu…very ethereal.
Do you remember the day you made me? Can you tell me that story again, you know I love that story so much! (smiles, finishes her mouthful, puts another slice of bread in the toaster)
Luisa: Well, I made you on the day that marked a year since my brother’s bike accident.
Larinda: (silent) The saddest day.
Luisa: I was feeling super emotional, yet strangely calm. I remember after making you just staring for a while at you laying there on my apartment floor...there you were; Pathetic. Beautiful. Careless. Confident. Peaceful. Hilarious. Sad. Hideous. Mesmerising. Helpless.
Larinda: (blushing) So, I’m guessing the memories of that day were playing on your mind?
Luisa: Oh god, yes! I made you to help me be present with those thoughts and feelings and to try and understand them better. There I was tending to you, just like I tended to my brother on his last days. Holding your hand, like I held his. Lying against your chest, like I lay against his. Stroking your hair, like I stroked his. Examining your body, like I examined his. It was a privilege to be there with my brother when he left the world and it was a privilege to be with you that day.
Larinda: You know, that’s the most ethereal story I have ever heard.
It’s interesting that you chose to make me out of dough. I think it’s a really beautiful substance.
Luisa: I made you from dough because of its literal materiality and how it speaks to the heart of the abject; the cadaver. Larinda, you’re literally expanding, shrinking, ageing and dying before my eyes! Sorry. That's pretty full on, but it’s true! By making you with an ephemeral material made you important because everything that is truly beautiful and loveable in life will eventually die.
Larinda: So, I remind you of death? (munching, contemplating, looking pensive)
Luisa: Yes, but also of life. It’s important to be reminded of both in order to live the most wholesome and ethereal lives we can.
Larinda: I feel like dough has a special connection to the body in other ways too. Like, in a less positive way. I read about all these diets where people avoid it, you know? Like women aren’t supposed to like carby foods, like it’s repulsive or something. Have I just imagined that? I guess I just don’t understand all those social pressures as well as you do (chewing).
Luisa: No! You’re exactly right. That’s also why I believe dough is a powerful material to work with. It can be used as a metaphor for so many aspects tied to conditions and constraints around the female body. Gluttony, even.
Larinda, just by you being comfortable in your own skin you’ve created your own definition of beauty, outside of society’s norms. Do you know how important that is?! You remind me that I need to accept and look after myself, above everything else.
Larinda: Wow, it’s seriously so special that we have helped each other so much. Like, I am helping you blitz demons and also connect back with your brother, and you brought me to life! Oh Lui, I just love you! (embraces Luisa, who has a tear rolling down her face. No tears come out of Larinda, because she’s made of dough, but she feels them on her face nevertheless).
So, we’re about to go on tour! Are we all organised?
Luisa: Oh yeah! That reminds me, don't let me forget the Larinda On Tour T-shirts!!