Performance Snow Flower of the North — a return to the ancient structure of reindeer herders’ mail: by a notable mound or stone, herders would arrange messages to one another using a set of special objects, conveying news to relatives, sharing family joys, or warning of danger. I am the Snow Flower of the North. Within my petals, I hide messages that the audience can retrieve in exchange for creating their own message. The voluntary participation of each viewer generates a natural circulation of information. Every visitor approaching the flower is accompanied by a northern reindeer. It rushes to announce the special role of the “Snow Flower” — the natural mail of the North. The reindeer dances and bellows — the flower sways, opening the womb of its secret pockets containing the messages: — You need this right now! — Good luck hunting for art! Why is the flower the symbol of my performance? The flower is a center of exchange through pollen, transmitting genetic information. It is an intelligent hub, deciding what is acceptable and what must be rejected. A natural chemical laboratory, it receives pollen from every visiting insect and, in return, generously gifts spores of its own pollen to every creature that lands on its petals. The simplicity and naivety of symbols in the telling of this ritual story have always been characteristic of the cultures of the Far North: the simpler, the clearer… the clearer, the faster one can use the information to survive amid eternal ice at −50 °C. Similarly, the naivety of my performance Snow Flower of the North is like a tale of a white wolf hiding beneath the whiteness of a snowdrift, concealing its black nose — but in a moment… its target will be struck by an instantaneous leap from the white nothingness! —Andy Barrt