Primal Speech Art Installation
Back in August I had the pleasure of collaborating with artist Liz Magic Lazer on her video installation Primal Speech. Liz has previously exhibited at MOMA PS1, and The Whitney Museum of American Art, who is probably best known for her work The Thought Leader, 2015.
The installation focuses on varying political beliefs and uses primal therapy to tap into potentially why we have such strong emotional reactions to politicians, their policies etc - is that reaction linked to something that you previously have felt or experienced.
Publication Creative Time Report described my performance as follows,
"a woman weeps over her sense of powerlessness as British politicians Nigel Farage and David Cameron merge with her tyrannical, childhood teacher. Here, sweat, tears, and screams of protest flow together to create an intensely personal political present."
Read the full article Here
Politics and engagement in politics is a real passion of mine and I relished the opportunity to engage with people with diametrically opposing opinions in the wake of Brexit and with the looming presidential elections.
The Installation is currently part of The Frieze Art Fair, in London, England then it will go on to show at The Grand Union in Birmingham, England in February 2017 and also CAC Bretigny, France in May 2017
Liz Magic Laser, Primal Speech, 2016. Video Still. Courtesy of the artist and Various Small Fires, Los Angeles.
Publication ArtNet.com said of Primal Speech in their article "Frieze London Dips Its Toes into the Nineties"
"Liz Magic Laser’s Primal Speech engaged with more recent political issues. The booth is conceived as a primal therapy suite, complete with padded walls and screaming jars. In a video, a life coach invites ‘participants’ to share their feelings about Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump, and their own sensations of anger and impotence. That it is hard to tell which answer responds to a political question and which to an emotional one suggests how deeply political affiliation is driven by emotional forces"
Read the full Article here