Kira O’Reilly’s performance for Small Acts at the Millennium took place on her birthday and in the form of a private party to mark her time and existence through memory. Her guest comprised of ten invited strangers in a hotel function room. Brandy glasses with a fragment of text engraved on it, were handed out to toast this event. A traditional happy birthday was sung with no name followed with a ritual action. O’Reilly cleared the table and lay on the tablecloth. The brandy glasses used to toast earlier were gathered for a cupping. Each of the ten glasses was heated to create suction and applied to her back or legs. After ten minutes blood had collected beneath the skin. Each glass was removed, a cut made, the glass heated and replaced again. The suction acted to pulled through a slight opening in the skin. Eventually the glasses were removed and the blood could spill’ onto the tablecloth, which was wrapped around her leaving traces of the event that took place. The only evidence of this work is the scars, the memories of the guests as well as O’Reilly herself, the few photos taken, the stained tablecloth and brandy glasses.
