I met with Rachel Goodsall and Tom Smith at the Bluecoat in the LIC studio space. It was nice to see the studio again as I have used it before but remembered it being bigger. As the space is a dance studio you have to take your shoes off before you enter. This worried me a bit as I don’t like space to feel precious which I then think will make the work seem precious which it is not. With the studio looking smaller the idea I had for using bordering lights just didn’t feel right for the piece. However I am able to use the corridor and the lift to lead the audience into the studio. We tested out the video projecting it onto my back, and a napkin surprisingly the image was strong. Although projecting onto my back creates contours in the image which if I don’t hit my marker will look very distorted. This did concern me, as when my back is turned I cannot be sure what the quality of the video will look like.
I have to remind myself that this work is part performance and also showing a video, which has to read well or else the audience will not engage with it. This has got me re-considering how to show the video and I feel if I used a neck scarf I could use it as a screen and have more control over the quality of the image. The work feels different now instead of turning my back on the viewer I am now offering them to see a video. I like this change as previous pieces have been performed intentionally awkward and a little antagonistic towards the audience. It’s funny how you have ideas, which you think are separate projects and then, a change in a piece of work merges ideas together. Instead of the viewer feeling like they are seeing an intense performance I like the idea that I will look like I work at the art centre when I meet and greet the viewer. I want to intervene into the viewer’s preconceptions of when a performance appears to start and assumptions made as to who the performer is.
Poolside Emergency 2, FREE performance/live art event @ The Bluecoat, Liverpool, School Lane L1 3BX:
http://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/events/view/events/9…
