19/04/16 TUNNEL VISION

The exhibition was really successful considering we had to set up mostly on the day and whilst working around existing tours in the tunnels, that were on at random times. It was interesting to see work in the tunnels after discussing ideas and placement for a long time and updating maps of potential places for people to show. Some of the people chose a particular section of the tunnels that interested them from the start and worked from them, with others we had to test different places out and discuss where the work would work best. This was mostly with the sound pieces. By me creating and updating maps every week or so it really helped to visuals how potentially the artworks will be dispersed around the tunnels as i really didn't want gaps, but a trail of work that appeared as you walked by. It was great to finally see how the work looks in the tunnels and how it works with the works around. 

At the start i really wanted for people who came in to see the tunnels themselves without a "tour guide", however due to health and safety and the volunteers insisting that we do tours, we had to lead people through. At first it seemed like it would take away from the work, but it did actually work. I had a number of people from the group including myself doing the tours, and we all did it differently. Some were more quick than others. But it was interesting and and very enjoyable to do. I have created a map of where people will potentially find the works throughout the tunnels that people took with them, however i noticed that whilst going through the tunnels not one person looked at the map. So i had to point out the pieces of work throughout the tunnels and sometimes even explain a piece of work, when i felt the group was really interested and would have liked to find out more.

We had a variety of audience, people from university, from our course and even geologists who were interested in both, in the tunnels and the event itself. We had a family from Cheshire who drove to see this exhibition and really enjoyed it.

What really stood out to me with this exhibition is that there was a lively atmosphere, especially in the hangout area at the end where people could find wine and enjoy music and interactive pieces of work. There was a positive energy throughout, everybody felt comfortable in the space, smiling and laughing and that was my aim from the start. It made me really happy.

It wasn't easy for me to organize something like this. Communicating with both Williamson Tunnel's volunteers, in terms of what we can do in the tunnels and how we can use the space, pushing boundaries and both communicating with 17 group members. I was the middle person. I was the organizer. If the group had ideas i had to see if the were approved by volunteers. But i really wanted for the group to push their work and really make use of the space and interact with it.

I really enjoyed the whole of the organization process and see myself doing something like this again. I chose Williamson Tunnels because it is not a white cube clean wall space, it has history and i was interested what the group can come up with with their work and how the works would be seen in the tunnels. The whole of the experience is what i was after and it was great. It was alive and fun.

I will soon start making a publication for this.

~Ev

Pilvi Takala - 'Real Snow White' performance

Real Snow White, 2009, 9.15 min

The absurd logic of the “real character” and the extreme discipline of Disneyland become apparent when a real fan of Disney’s Snow White is banned from entering the park in a Snow White costume.

I absolutely love this performance as it tries to open our eyes on the unwritten rules that people follow in public places. Takala tries and expose these social structures, so we as audience realise how silly they are. Takala's performance consisted of her dressed in Snow White costume, just outside the entrance to Disney Land. Unsurprising the public reacted to her as they thought she was the 'real Snow White'. Children and adults posed with her in photographs and asked for her autograph until one of the security guards made it clear to her that she is forbidden to enter the park in the costume or a 'disguise'. Takala acted naive as though she didn't know this would happen. There was a long discussion between her and the guard until somebody higher came to talk to her. Even the onlookers became part of the conversation, saying she is not the 'real snow white' and she shouldn't be dressed like that, because their children thought she was real. The people who realised that she wasn't real started to see her as something negative. The camera that has filmed the interaction is invisibly present and is not detected by anybody. 

The answers to Takala's innocent questions are as funny as they are disillusioning. The bystanders became disappointed when it appeared that Takala is not the 'real Snow White'. Apparently the real Snow White is inside the park. In the video you can see that Takala is trying to question them too "But i thought that the real Snow White was a drawing". No one seems to realise how ridiculous it is to be speaking about 'real' when it comes to a fantasy character. Fantasy is no longer infinite when one is dealing with a commercial Disney character who brings in billions. The guard told Takala that they don't know what her intentions are, that she might do something that diviates from the Disney script or even worse, do something malicious. Even outside the gates to the park she is controlled by the rules of Disney. 

This made me think about the performances that i did just a month ago in the Walker Art Gallery and in university for the 'Instructions on the Label' show. In the Walker i put myself in an awkward situation by dressing like a child in school uniform and by sitting on the floor and mimicking how children draw. Also in the 'Instructions on the Label' the performance called 'Inside Out' i put the audience and myself in an awkward situation by asking the person to swap coats with me, which is a random thing to do when you meet a person. In a sense in both performances i explored boundaries too. This connection with Pilvi Takala's work was interesting for me and allowed for me to see my work from a different angle. 

Full length filmed performance

Some images of the performance:

I found this interesting interview with Takala talking about the 'Real Snow White' performance and how the idea came about.

Artist in Focus: Pilvi Takala

by Helen Homan Wu on November 9, 2010

link here

So when did this idea to be dressed up as the “Real Snow White” come up?
I was in Paris for a couple of months in the summer 2009 and I hadn’t been to Disneyland before. I almost went when visiting California a couple of years ago, but in Paris I finally had to go because I also though I might want to make work there. Before I have been making work in places like shopping malls, that are somehow seem public but are actually private and very controlled. Disneyland is really the ultimate example of control. The success of the park is based on how perfectly controlled everything is and Walt Disney also had very interesting ideas about how to organise society. He intended to build a real community in Florida called Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, but he passed away before finishing and now it’s just another theme park. It’s quite scary actually how well the parks work with so many visitors obeying all the rules and it’s even scarier to think how Walt Disney’s prototype for a real living community would be. He thought it’s impossible to fix the problems of the society, but it is possible to build a perfect community on empty land and have that as an example for the rest of the world.

There are so many Disneylands around the world, If you go to a different Disneyland, would you do the same performance?

I think the results would be more or less similar. They won’t let me in with that costume in any Disneyland. There can only be one Snow White at the time, and the girls who play her are all the same height and they all learn the same autograph. So if a kid goes to her twice s/he wouldn’t notice that it’s a different person. There’s no mistakes or things out of control in Disneyland, that’s very essential to the function of the park. I also think that in any Disneyland people would want a photo with me, whether I’m the Real Snow White or not.

In Paris there was one mother who was totally into the logic of the Real Snow White, she explained to me that I can’t enter the park because only the Real Snow White is allowed to dress like this and that her daughter thought I’m the Real Snow White. That was really funny, because I thought most people wouldn’t care as long as I looked good enough.

Disneyland is an extreme example of observing people’s behaviour in a controlled public space. And people are ’supposed’ to have a good time.
People do have good time, and they even go back the next year. So the magic works and it’s great to leave your critical mind behind and enter the magic kingdom.

Do most of your projects deal with public space?
Yeah, but often the space is not really public, kind of semi-public and the focus is in the unwritten rules that govern the place or situation.

~Ev

7/04/16 HAH Show (Half Arsed Harry) - 'Noughts & Crosses'

As a group of about 30 students, we had four days to set up our work in ERC space in University, working together to decide how the work will be displayed and where. We had artist Kathryn Elkin helping us throughout. Helping us decide what works and what doesn't, and really made us question and criticise everything, which was helpful in making decisions. There were a lot of paintings, but there were also a bit of sculpture, installation and a few performances. For this number of people i personally thought it was a small space. Also it wasn't the best space, as the lighting for me was too yellow and patchy, and in the corner there was a big window instead of a continuous wall. But we had to work with what we had.

A lot of people knew where they wanted to place their work from the start, however i wanted to experiment in the space and wait until it starts to form to respond somehow in the space. After talking to Kathryn Elkin about my practice she suggested to look at an artist called Pilvi Takala and her interesting confrontational performances. I kind of already knew that i would come up with a performance for the show, however this research helped me to shape it. Whilst researching Takala one particular piece of work stood out to me called 'Real Snow White', where Takala dressed in snow white costume went to Disneyland and everybody thought she was the "real snow white". People started asking her for an autograph and took pictures with their children. Then the security appeared and confronted Takala that she could not wear the costume as she is not a real snow white. Apparently only the real snow white can wear the costume that is employed by them. The security had concerned for her intentions and really wanted her to change to normal clothes. I loved the response Takala came up with "Isn't the movie character the real Snow White?" With her performance she pushes the boundaries and explores thresholds, and at the same time putting herself in awkward situations and her audience.

 This made me think about the performances that i did just a month ago in the Walker Art Gallery and in university for the 'Instructions on the Label' show. In the Walker i put myself in an awkward situation by dressing like a child in school uniform and by sitting on the floor and mimicking how children draw. Also in the 'Instructions on the Label' the performance called 'Inside Out' i put the audience and myself in an awkward situation by asking the person to swap coats with me, which is a random thing to do when you meet a person. In a sense in both performances i explored boundaries too. This connection with Pilvi Takala's work was interesting for me and allowed for me to see my work from a different angle. 

For the HAH Show i decided i wanted to create something interactive but silly and out of place at the same time. So i thought of children's games that might be seen silly in a gallery space where everyone is trying to be serious and professional. The first one that came to mind was a hop scotch. After researching the history of the game i discovered that boys played the game first and later on girls joined. I also discovered a lot of variations of the game in different countries. Although i was interested in creating a piece that was interactive, this idea felt like it belonged somewhere else. The work belonged in a different setting. I started thinking of other games that requires physical engagement of the audience. I wanted to use the gallery as a playground, interacting with the space and the audience everywhere in the gallery. I thought of noughts and crosses, its quick and easily understood as well as we can play it anywhere in the gallery space. It's interactive, one on one and really out of place. 

In the exhibition whilst doing the interaction i found people were eager and actually had fun playing it with me. They couldn't get enough. Also there were people who watched the interaction and thought it was really silly and stupid but that was the whole point and to question the White Cube gallery space and its authoritative nature. 

Some images:

~Ev