I have just got back to Manchester with a really bad hangover after the night of the event this has been my first chance to make a post. The day of the event went really quickly as I still had to get a few materials and continued to learn my script. I intended to do some promotional work with my cardboard cut-out however there just wasn’t the time to do it. I had to be at the gallery at 4pm to make sure all my props were ready for my slot and have a sound check. The event started with an artist talk at 6pm. The panel included the exhibiting artist Tiina Nevanpera, performance artist Tero Nauha and art critic Miika Luoto. I could not understand the talk as it was in Finnish although Anna kept filling me in on sections, which on occasions she found difficult to listen to. The impression I got was that there were a lot of long arty words used and referencing the process of art with divine inspiration, oh dear. It was an older crowd and I was a little bit worried if they would participate and get the humour. Tero performed shortly after the talk and he simply had a CD player that played the sound of a radio being tuned. He sat on a chair next to the table and proceeded to say yes, no, and other random noises to the beat of the sound. This was a durational performance that lasted around fifteen minutes. Personally I thought the piece was too long although I liked how it was an alternative take on the previous artist talk, talking genuine, unashamed nonsense. However a 45 minute talk and a durational performance later was a bit too much for the audience and half of them left.
Anna went outside on the street to drum up some business, I was also asked but could not focus on anything other than preparing for my performance. As I have previously said it did feel a little strange having people seated during the performance although it just made the piece more bazaar. There was a happy mistake when I asked for assistance on stage with the person held up the wrong name card, which I was trying to get everyone to repeat. One guy couldn’t understand me when I explained that I wanted him to throw confetti over me at the end of my dance and he simply threw the plastic pack on my head. I did manage to get most people up for the final countdown although I did have to explain how to operate a party popper. At the end as the party poppers went off and the balloons didn’t fall I then stay still for around 10 seconds. I could see people in front of me clearing a walkway for me to leave, although when I did eventually get up I got my cardboard cut-out and placed it in front of the stand. I then left making no eye contact on my way out. People were not sure if the performance had ended, gone wrong or if I was going to come back for an encore. It’s funny how people get emotionally involved with Miss Eventé, an invented character that nobody really knows.
