Live Art
Drama and Theatre Arts
GALLERY
Artist statement
Stepping into my artistic world requires a willingness to embrace vulnerability. Amidst the world of hustle and bustle, I aim to create sanctuaries for respite. I intend to create experiences where individuals can pause, breathe, and momentarily escape from the external noise and consider the deep introspection that arises when removed from the external chaos. It is within these sanctuaries that the intersection of presence, vulnerability and emotion becomes a powerful incentive for self-discovery, offering individuals a moment of retreat to explore the depths of their own thoughts and feelings.
Steering away from traditional staged performances, I naturally gravitate towards smaller and more intimate venues; an environment that captures the connection between spectator and artist. Here, dialogue may not be exchanged, but the energy shared speaks volumes.
I am an experimental artist, constantly looking for new and unconventional methods to evoke raw emotions. My current artistic curiosity is particularly piqued by the marriage of human emotions and technology. Through the fusion of the human body and projection, I aspire to create art that resonates equally with the eye and the heart. Using sensory theory as a tool, the visual will highlight the complex details of emotion.
My artistic journey unfolds in the search for true expression. In these moments of shared vulnerability and exploration, I invite the audience-participants into an immersive experience, allowing them to disconnect from the external world. The art of self-reflection becomes a transformative force, remaining in the recesses of emotions long after the performance concludes. In a world that rarely pauses, my art serves as a stillness- a space where emotions take centre stage, where the shared experience becomes a testament to the power of the intimate, the experimental and the extraordinary.
Embracing Authenticity: Exploring Live Art Through Presence and Embodiment
The definition of Live Art is continuously evolving, with various interpretations and perspectives shaping its understanding. However, over time and through research, I have come to view Live Arts as ‘a shared transformative experience’, a concept articulated by Lee Miller and Joanne Whalley.(1) This idea resonated deeply with me when I encountered the work of Marina Abramovic and Adrien Howells, whose integration of care, emotion and vulnerability significantly shaped my artistic outlook.
My planned live art performance Welcome Inside encapsulates my understanding of live art as a diverse and complex medium. It aims to explore intimate connections and encourage self-reflection among audience members. The performance bridges various areas of live art, marrying the intimacy of confessional art with elements of digital instillation.
Confessional art, which is closely associated with autobiographical work, emerged in the late 20th century and is defined as ‘a form of contemporary art that centres on an intentional revelation of the private self’.(2) Drawing upon relevant theories and frameworks, including this concept of confessional art, my performance reflects a deep understanding of live art as a vehicle for intimate self-revelation. By integrating elements of the confessional, which demonstrate the intentional disclosure of personal experiences, my performance aims to create a space for introspection and mirrors the transformative potential of live art.
Themes of respite, revelation and reflection are prominent in the performance, providing a space for individuals to confront the hidden complexities and difficulties of human existence. Drawing upon Locke’s representational theory of the ‘veil of perception’, which suggests that external appearances misrepresent internal realities, the performance challenges the audience to acknowledge the concealed struggles beneath someone’s surface.(3) Therefore, highlighting the importance of empathy and understanding in navigating our self-compassion and meaningful interpersonal relationships.
Presence and embodiment:
When conceptualising Welcome Inside in the context of Live Art, I intentionally prioritise presence and embodiment, drawing inspiration from Abromovic’s The Artist is Present (2009).(4) By removing spoken dialogue and relying on direct eye contact and emotional resonance, the performance aims to establish immediate and thoughtful connections with the audience. This approach reflects a focus on co-presence, aligning with Abramovic’s innovative work and embodying my interpretation of live art as an experimental medium that has the potential to nurture genuine connections between performer and audience. Additionally, the integration of aural elements was inspired by the breathing patterns in ‘Umbilical by Niya B. These additions serve to deepen the sensory experience and heighten the emotional engagement in the performance.(5) However, instead of employing a repetitive loop, I introduce distortions and changes in breath pace gradually throughout the performance, symbolising the hidden struggles experienced by individuals.
Upon acknowledging the versatility of live art, the inspiration for these adaptations came from artists like Janet Cardiff and Olafur Eliasson, who demonstrate how immersive sensory experiences can evoke emotional responses. By strategically integrating the aural elements, my performance utilises sensory stimuli to encourage introspection, convey complex messages and emotionally engage audiences through body and presence. It is these elements, with their emphasis on presence and embodiment, that encapsulate my understanding of live art as a transformative experience that embraces various levels of vulnerability.
Further Influence:
Guided by live art practitioners such as Abramovic and Howells, ‘Welcome Inside’ aims to encourage connections through personal narratives and emotions, intimate settings and the removal of boundaries between the performer and spectator. Aligned with Howell’s specialism in one-to-one performances, which he describes as ‘confessional’, my performance reflects my interpretation of Live Art by inviting the audience to directly engage with the unfiltered authenticity of the internal human experience.(6) Through non-verbal communication techniques such as handholding and the passing of personal handwritten notes, my performance aims to transcend the traditional boundaries of spectatorship and invites active engagement, leading to a shared transformative connection. Overall, this approach reflects my view of live art as a dynamic form centred on emotional resonance and experiential transformation, representing a transformative and insightful exploration of human connection.
References:
(1) Joanne ‘Bob’, Whalley and Lee Miller. Between Us: Audiences, Affect and the In-Between. Palgrave,2016
(2) Ronald L. Jackson, and Michael A. Hogg. 2010. ‘Confessional Art’, Encyclopaedia of Identity (Sage Knowledge), pp. 124–26
(3) ‘The Veil of Perception’. 2014. Framepublishing.com <https://framepublishing.com/2014/06/04/the-veil-of-perception/> [accessed 4 March 2024]
(4) Marina, Abramovic, The Artist Is Present. 2009
(5) Niya. B, Umbilical. 2018
(6) Adrian, Howells, ‘Adrian Howells’. 2010 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7btf8Tdg_s>
