Rite of Passage (2020)
Ruination, the state of coming undone, is central to Carlos Bunga's practice. Without it there would be no renewal. Bunga fully embraces these two states in his work, he erects soaring and resilient cardboard structures only to take them down to make space for something new.
Under other circumstances, Bunga would have been present in Toronto to strike his work down himself. Instead, he passed on this responsibility and process to the crew who helped him build the work originally, and to Lauren Runions, a dance artist who performed in his work during its inauguration. In this video, Runions is seen leaning right into the work's ending, knowing that something new will take its place. She is performing what is a rite of passage in Bunga's work, the ritual of turning things over to possibility, to change.