Performature : Performateur #3
StSt.Ari aka Steep St, Katoomba
3-9 May 2021
Performature : Performature (P : P) is a concept philosophy that attempts to shift and question our notions of existing performative vocabulary; that have fixed our perception of how performance-making processes and presentations should be. It is based on the hope that by pooling together a collective of artists from different disciplines, that the sharing process may affect how we perceive performance to unfold. It also takes into account the spatial relationship of works being created, whether it be sculptural, audio or includes the body.
StSt.Ari (Steep St) in Katoomba offered a third opportunity to continue exploring the above process with a new core collective of Mountain-based artists: From 3rd to 9th May 2021, a collective of installation, sound and performing artists explore ways of extending their visual and performance boundaries spatially and conceptually. The core collective consists of Blue Mountains artists: Chris Caines, Damian Castaldi, WeiZen Ho, Naomi Oliver, Michael Petchkovsky, Alan Schacher. Artists Sue Callanan, Margaret Roberts and Laura Altman from previous iterations of Performature : Performateur were invited to intervene and improvise towards the end of the process.
The formal proposal was:
Open Studio: Thurs, Fri, Sat 6, 7, 8 May 2-5pm
Different Installation Activation Performance and Action Events: Fri 7 May 8pm and Sat 8 May 10pm
When this concept philosophy was first explored at Articulate project space in 2019, it began with an invited collective of Sydney artists due to the space being located in Leichardt. The process was opened up by defining what the terms Performature : Performature triggered for them, as a point of departure. The second iteration, P : P #2 took place in Tempe Jets as part of a Splinter Orchestra festival. In all instances, the important focus was to prioritise process over presentation and this also meant that StSt.Ari was used more like a creative residency - the majority of the collective’s thinking, relational and creation process occurred in the space.
For P : P #3, I asked everyone to do something they’d never done before; contribute in a role/way they’ve never had to; or re-approach an existing work in a different way; or seek a different way of processing...it can be a small shift too, and then we re-grouped to reflect together.
Some of the questions that were considered included: when does a performance start? how do you perceive an installation to be performative? How far can we extend the physical boundaries of a performance taking place? How can we rethink and deconstruct ‘performance-making’? Can we take on another discipline temporarily? In what way are we personally attempting shifts in our processes, and how is this contextualised within the last decade of our practice?
Link to previous iterations with different collective and locations https://www.weizenho.com/work-avenue/#/performature-performateur/
Videography David Ryan, All Photos David Brazil, Video and Photo Editing Damian Castaldi
