Performance Salons 3-9
In the first series of Salon performances at the home space, artists explored themes as diverse as the noise of the kitchen appliances to favourite songs, and two artists from Moscow performed in London for the first time.
Performance Salon #3
Friday 26 May, 2000
Live electro-acoustic performance using recorded sounds from the kitchen equipment at home and live mixing and manipulation including the use of kitchen gadgets, the audience experienced a unique cacophony of sound and performance actions.
Performance Salon #4
30 June 2000
Visitors were invited on a fantastical journey around the house which was inhabited by an array of costumed performers. These strange creatures repetitively performed familiar actions : eating, and playfully exploring their surroundings. The performance took place in several rooms with the audience free to wander around the house interacting with the performers.
Performance Salon #5
6th October 2000
Clare Roberts presented an innovative series of new sound pieces, re-enacting two of Harry Houdini’s most daring escapes. Leaky Noises 1: Houdini’s escape from a metal crate, manacles, chains, locks and a straight-jacket whilst submerged in water. Through the layering of sounds and careful control of noises the escape is enacted. The jetty-come-mixing-desk looks out over a deep and turbulent dock, cushions describing the depths and ripples are scoured for signs of successful escape. Leaky Noises 2 : A live burial is activated. Rocks, mud and stones are substituted while the evocative sounds of an escapologist surviving being encased and buried describe the situation more fully. Listening carefully to the noises of breathing the audience wait for the crucial moment of escape..
Performance Salon #6
10th November 2000
In his artworks and performances over the years, John Carson has often played with the slippage between romance and reality. ‘As the night porter in the Coast Road Hotel in Carrickfergus, one of my duties was to clear up after the night’s revelries. The lounge floor would be littered with little pink request cards. Underneath the promise ” Our band will be happy to play or sing your musical request” would be scribbled drunken entreaties such as, Could we please have Tommy Chambers to sing I left my Heart in San Francisco for Etta and Dorrie from Courtaulds” or “Missishippe (sic) for all the men from all the women”. This was as near as Carrickfergus got to Las Vegas.’ For An evening with John Carson he performed ‘Just for You’. To book a place for the evening guests were required to send in a request card, asking for a favourite song. Accompanied by Sue Harris on piano, John sung up to 15 of the requests sent in.
Performance Salon #7
24 November 2000
In Upakovka 5, the artist stood naked in a room in the house. Nobody was allowed to enter the space. Viewers followed the performance through video monitors positioned in the main rooms downstairs. Starting with her arms the artist wrapped her body in grey packing tape. The action became increasingly slow and difficult as the movements became hindered by the packaging. The only punctuation to this painful procedure was the rhythmic crackling of the tape as it was unrolled and re-glued around the body. A performance of raw power and energy the audience witnessed the artist’s performance mediated through the eye of the camera. Marina Perchikhina is a leading Russian performance artist who has exhibited internationally in Germany, Sweden and extensively in Russia.
Performance Salon #8
8th December 2000
Marsha’s performances revolve around her fascination with food and the domestic. In ‘Widely Read Housewife’ a video-based work, she carefully washes and hangs to dry on a washing line, rows of precious Russian books in her Moscow flat. In ‘Pelmeri’ at home, a magic trail of typical Russian ravioli sweets was hidden in the house. The audience were invited to search for the sweets in and amongst the clutter of family life. Marsha Chuykova is a leading Moscow-based performance artist who has presented her work internationally.
Performance Salon #9
22 December 2000
For a special Christmas Salon, Michelle Griffiths appeared as the mysterious dark presence of a different aspect of Christmas, surrounded by Christmas trees and light. Building a special installation in the top studio, her solitary figure completed the tableau: Silent and haunting in a Victorian dress the audience was invited to witness a truly dark and resonant spectacle.
