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
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