Workshop for Humans/Krõõt Juurak & Alex Bailey

 

Time: Saturday 8/9 16.30-18.30

Place: @MDT

To book your place, sign up here

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What are the similarities and differences between human and non-human audiences, is the performer inherently subordinate, i.e. working ‘for’ the audience, how does the audience gain agency?

 

We will share our interest in the position of pets as cultural producers and consumers, as artists, performers and emerging audiences. Domestic pets read humans mostly through our body language. A typical pet spends at least as much time, if not more, looking at humans than looking at members of their own species. In “Performances for Pets” we mimic and reflect the pets’ body language back at them. A reversed version of this situation might be a parrot addressing humans in human language, however removed from its original meaning the gestures become more abstract. In this workshop we will introduce some practices that we share with pets. What are the similarities and differences between human and non-human audiences, is the performer inherently subordinate, i.e. working ‘for’ the audience, how does the audience gain agency?