Masculine Expressions of my Creative Prowess
an ongoing polymorphously-perverse performance project
CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO TEASER SERIES
The latest 'outing' of this project was performed on 26th September 2017 at Camden People's Theatre,
within the context of the gender festival 'Come As You Are'.
within the context of the gender festival 'Come As You Are'.
Masculine Expressions of my Creative Prowess seeks to interrogate and undermine heteronormative notions what it is (or should feel like) to be a man, and what a man is meant to (or should) be.
Rather than a singular, fixed performance, the project is a polymorphous entity expressed in a series of ever-shifting and continually evolving 'outings'. Since it started in September 2014, the project has been shaped by different performance-sharing contexts. (scratch platforms, club nights, galleries or museums). In some instances, it has responded directly to those events, their themes, and/or settings. Read more about Masculine Expressions of my Creative Prowess here.
Rather than a singular, fixed performance, the project is a polymorphous entity expressed in a series of ever-shifting and continually evolving 'outings'. Since it started in September 2014, the project has been shaped by different performance-sharing contexts. (scratch platforms, club nights, galleries or museums). In some instances, it has responded directly to those events, their themes, and/or settings. Read more about Masculine Expressions of my Creative Prowess here.
On the 29th of July 2011 Masculine Expressions of my Creative Prowess came to me as the title for a potential show. I thought the process should somehow involve talking to men. I made a note of it. Nothing happened. It has rained a lot since then: I’ve hit 31, I’m most definitely beginning to bald, and I’ve lost my central father figure to cancer. I’m still trying to figure out how I fit into the category ‘man’, and have begun to talk to men about it. I still don’t know what the show is about, but I’ve decided to start making it anyway. September 2014
|
|
5th September 2014
'Cook Up', Looping the Loop Festival The Roundabout, Winter Gardens, Margate This was the project's first 'outing'. It was put together purely on instinct around a series of images, actions, texts, and moments: a list of apologies gathered from men I had spoken to, a dance with a deodorant spray to the tune of Callas' O Mio Babinno Caro, physically comparing myself to men in the audience, singing The Man I Love whilst wearing boxing gloves, a few childhood anecdotes, putting on high heels and playing with a kitchen knife... All the props used came out of the suitcase I carried with me into the space at the start. This action of carrying one's baggage has become a feature of the project as a whole. The playful approach to dressing, undressing, and revealing layers, has also continued as a motif. The Roundabout is a touring, pop-up theatre created by Paines Plough. At the time it was housed in Margate's Winder Garden as part of Looping the Loop Festival. This 'outing' was performed a second time on 14th January 2015 at Anselm Studios, Christ Church University, Canterbury. You can find a bootleg recording of the opening moments here. |
Images courtesy of Jason Brooks and White Room Photography.
|
Images courtesy of CUNTemporary and Thomas Hensher.
|
29th November 2014
'Deep Trash Italia #3 IS NOT FOR SALE' Bethnal Green Working Men's Club, London Deep Trash Italia is a exhibition-cum-performance-club night curated by Archivio Queer Italia and CUNTemporary. Its third instalment focused on capitalism, commerce, and work. Responding to these themes, this 'outing' explored the fetishisation of a poetics of labour, problematising the nostalgia of the working classes' 'honest work', and undermining heteronormative notions of man-as-worker. Throughout the event, in full workman's outfit and dragging a toolbox by a leash around my neck, I talked with the audience about their job situation, job security and job satisfaction. The performance itself elevated the image of the exploited worker to a totemic and heroic figure. The 'outing' featured Welsh mining choirs, fragments from an old BBC documentary about mining, a mix sampling together a rally speech by an unknown miner with various speeches by Margaret Thatcher, as well as material gathered during the earlier exchanges with the audience. View a trailer for the event and glimpses of the performance here. |
6th December 2014
'S.O.S. (Self-organising Space)' ]performancespace[, London This 'outing' addressed mental health, taking its thematic cue from the gallery's location in Deptford (an area previously seen as depressed), and the event's acronym title (an implicit cry for help). After writing directly onto the gallery wall to establish my performative presence, I spent two hours wandering the streets collecting items of thrown away rubbish: receipts, containers, pieces of wood, a let-by sign... The placement of each object into the space was accompanied by a performative gesture or the poetic reading of the text printed on it. The performance that followed started with a downbeat and moody tone. Wearing a slobby outfit (torn jeans, stained hoodie), I hinted at the depths of despair and the shame associated with male mental illness to the tune of Serge Lama's Je Suis Malade. The piece then took a carnivalesque turn with a complete outfit transformation which homaged Carmen Miranda (who herself suffered from depression). Backed by her famous Mamãe Eu Quero, I literally attempted to wash away the shame with cleaning liquid (a boozy tropical concoction). This more playful tone aimed to embrace and take ownership over mental health issues, reclaiming the label of fruit-loop in an exuberant and celebratory way. |
Images courtesy of Marco Berardi.
|
Images courtesy of Drunken Chorus.
|
17th December 2014
'Drunken Nights III #1' The George Tavern, London This 'outing' was part of a platform taking place in pubs and organised by Drunken Chorus. It therefore directly engaged with this setting as a quintessentially male space, addressing men's relationship to drink as a marker for both celebration and despair: a joyful toast, a lonely shot of whiskey, a lubricant for seduction, a fuel for violence... The performance was structured as a series of different rounds, each preluded by a different drink. Swinging between stereotypical personas (i.e. tweed-clad old geezer, leather-clad thug), I played a quiz-master, took dating advice from the audience, only to later threaten them to a fight, belted out a karaoke tune, showed off a number of drink-related party tricks, and read out a eulogy of sorts to the pub itself. The performance was entirely soundtracked by songs with direct references to pubs and bars in their titles. Read A Younger Theatre's feature published ahead of the event here. |
21st March 2015
'Buzzcut' The Pearce Institute, Glasgow This was the most ambitious 'outing' to date. Live art festival Buzzcut gave me the opportunity to revisit all the material generated up to that point in a durational fashion (lasting three hours). The initial 'outing' served as an overture of sorts, and was then followed by the others. The performance was therefore structured along different thematic lines in a quasi-encyclopedic way (the audience being able to come and go between sections). Since it was the first revisitation of all this material, there inevitably were unplanned improvisations. At the same time, the added durational strain and its flirtation with exhaustion, resulted in accidental slippages. All this meant this 'outing' had a particularly electric energy, the performance differing greatly from its previous iterations. Read the full programme for the Buzzcut 2015 here. |
Images courtesy of Buzzcut, Julia Blau, and Phoebe Marsh,
|
Images courtesy of Kim Conway.
|
1st May 2015
'Scratch Yourself', Looping the Loop Festival Turner Contemporary, Margate This 'outing' was a durational dress-up game which synthesised, collaged, and hybridised different images/outfits. Stripping off and adding costume layers to my bare attire, I presented a series of sculptural portraits. A music stand facing the audience showed a collection of single words, some closely and some indirectly associated with men (father, saviour, soldier, thug, hunter, bigot...). Each caption framed an image or images before being discarded on the floor. As the game progressed, the space became strewn with pieces of paper, clothes and objects. Rather than being thematically ordered, this 'outing' revelled in juxtaposition and disorder. Read Exeunt's feature on the festival, which mentions the piece, here. |