exposures (plates 20, 21 and 22)
Date
2002
Authors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
DOI
Volume Title
Publisher
Black Dog
Type
Book chapter
Peer reviewed
Abstract
Description
I collaborated with the photographer Manuel Vason in order to make a series of images that were representative of my performance practice. These were initially for the book exposures by Manuel Vason, Lois Keidan and Ron Athey (Black Dog Publishing, 2002), which had the overarching remit of visually exploring the work of contemporary British-based performance/ live artists.
After much discussion about my work, in order to distil the essence of some of my methodologies and visual language, Vason and I reached an understanding that allowed us to make a series of extreme close-up images of my mouth seeping milk. The idea was to explore the moment of translation - between the live action of performance and the difficulty of, but potential for, documentation. We were interested in capturing an essence of meaning of my praxis; a trace of concept and emotion that would be apparent and bequeathed in live work. The work was successful in these terms. It displayed sexuality but confused audiences about the viscerality they were witness to.
This collaboration also led to the selection of these images in a slightly different formation for a major Tate Liverpool exhibition, Art, Lies and Videotape: Exposing Performance, in 2003, examining methods artists have employed in order to document performance and explore documentation as a form of practice in itself.
The whole initial project has kick started a large-scale national interest in the documentation of the live. And what began as someone else’s project fuelled a concern over my own representation in archive and documentation, as well as the consolidation of the emphasis from textual play and humour in my solo performances to visuality and minimal aesthetics.
Keywords
RAE 2008, UoA 65 Drama, Dance and Performing Arts
Citation
Goldwater, H. (2002) exposures (plates 20, 21 and 22). In: Vason, M., Keidan, L. and Athey, R. eds. Exposures. Black Dog. pp. 20-22.