‘You’re a completely different version when you speak to her’ (2019-20),
Performance, duration 20 minutes approx.
‘You’re a completely different version when you speak to her’ (2019-20) examines the body as a container of ‘languages’ that arise because of, and in relation, to the other.
Through an ongoing process of 'propositions' made by individuals, and group negotiation, movement-based vocabularies and spoken language, become material to grapple with and to make sense of. In such a negotiation, the work seeks to engage with dialogue, as outlined by David Böhm (1990) to test the potential of something autonomous emerging beyond the individual but between the group, as Bohm suggests “something new, which may not have been in the starting point at all.”
The relationship between speech and movement is central to the work; particularly the act of naming experience and observing what is seen, making reference to the ‘repetition’ exercises used in Sanford Meisner’s acting technique. Speech is also used to make ‘announcements’ that frame experiences of being in groups, in other contexts. Particular announcements have been printed on t-shirts, and are worn by the performers.
The presence of a group results in ongoing variations and shifts in perspective, inviting language and gesture to be opened up and recontextualised.
Thank you to my performance collaborators Michaela Gerussi, Emma Lindsay and Ioanna Palamidous for their commitment to the project and to Adianna Apodaca for her generous help and support in filming and editing the documentation.
