Spontaneity Exercise

performance art intervention

Bargehouse, Southbank, London

during The Other Art Fair private view

24th of November 2011

“Her performances look at social difference grounded in visible expressions of body language and group formations. She looks at group mentalities and how despite the individual basis of perceptions, interpretations and decision-making processes, these contribute to an overall abstract mass: ‘the group’. Her works aim to draw notice to the ongoing performativity and role-taking of everyday life, re-framing these actions in new situations and bringing people to a state of self-awareness.”

"A group of 10 caterers were gathered at The Other Art Fair Private View at the Southbank, London, patiently waiting in-line, yet taking a position in the space which was odd and dislocating. They blocked the viewing of the works, interrupted the flow of the crowd and stood there persistently, with an unsettling presence. They then left in single file in silence and re-formed in another of the rooms in the art fair, continually moving around at intervals for two hours. They formed a ‘presence’ and ‘mass’ interrupting the social situation, and forcing people to confront and move around them. People are unsettled by, and also dismissive of this gathering of people, who were interrupting their conversations and contemplative engagement with the work. Throughout the performance the crowd became increasingly aware of the presence of the camera and conscious of the fact this was a performance, faced with a split-second choice of politely moving out of the way, or engaging with it. It is now the norm to expect performances at artistic opening events, yet the ephemerality of this non-commodity performance was at a disjuncture with the commercial emphasis of this art fair. (...) The roles of performer and audience were also partly reversed, where the group of caterers became the audience watching the crowd of the art fair."

from “The Incidental Participant” by artist and writer Sophie Hoyle, 2012

p. 26

“We Were Trying To Make Sense...” Exploring Artist and Non-Artist Collaborations

publication printed by An Endless Supply at Jerwood Project Space in London and supported by the Polish Cultural Institute in London