Great to see the guys over at
12ø collective are doing 30/30 again! It's a really great way of expanding ones practice
and doing some real experimentation. If you want to take part head over >>>here<<<
you won’t regret it!
Yesterday
was also the final day of the performative exhibition at Chisenhale Gallery so
we went to see it. It’s by Alex Baczynski-Jenkins and he was the choreographer
of the whole work. The set up is pretty minimal, its focal point an octagonal
four-tiered stage whose platforms are reconfigured over the course of the
exhibition. There were these red, industrial-looking, electric heaters in
the walls, and folded packing blankets for both both props and seating. The lighting
was also very apparent in the space, very blunt and artificial lighting and
this intense soundtrack of looping rhythmic samples and continuous low drones. Every
aspect of the atmosphere was manipulated to create as much tension as possible.
The movements
themselves are very intimate, habitual gestures such as fingers delicately
stroking a face or absentmindedly tapping a surface. Spoken word recurs in the
form of poems and short exchanges, the repetition of lines and gestures
building a sense of continual rehearsal. A lovely realisation for us was when
the body changed from being a person to being a material; as they move on and
off the stage, the performers determine how viewers negotiate the gallery
space. Moments of direct address ensue when performers come right up close to
the audience or hold the viewer’s gaze in tacit exchange. The way basic
theatrical devices were used was another thing we noticed; they created were
performing a kind of social choreography in which an experience of estrangement
materialises through these bizarre interactions.
