Eating my Shoe

Photos by John Boursnell

An ode to Charlie Chaplin... a few weeks ago I ate my shoe at the Norwich Arts Centre Cafe. This was the public premiere of my new performance 'Twice Cooked'.

Twice Cooked is about the complex and ritualistic means in which we partake in eating, and how we give and receive nourishment. The piece was inspired by experiences working within care, and the kinds of food related conversations and procedures I observed. In Twice Cooked, I am exploring the notions of hosting, forcing, surviving, and a fine line between caring and over-sugaring.

Twice Cooked was part of a programme of site-specific works by other/other/other artists on Saturday 3rd July's Live Art Event. Locating our works in every nook and cranny of the Norwich Arts Centre, the audience found themselves making use of the building in alternative and unusual means. We had a good audience number and I have to say they ventured into every kind of participating activity with enthusiasm. The only drunk and disorderly came from a strange and shadowy figure in the corner of the bar...the elusive, unbilled and deceased 'Jimmy Stewart' who once lived in Norwich (aka performance artist extraudinaire Rebecca Wigmore)

As usual, for more information follow this link: http://www.otherotherother.wordpress.com/

My first Exhibit!

I have much blogging catching-up to do! Above is a picture of my first bit of 'something on a wall' without a live presence. The opportunity to make something to be left in the space came from Pea and Pea Collaborations who curated the Falling/ Fooling installation at the Fringe Arts Bath Festival (May 2010). This work was exhibited throughout the two weeks of the installation, alongside the other artists pieces and my performance of Private Joke.

Pictured is a cd player that plays genuine sound footage of a music exam recorded around 1998 at my secondary school in Cambridge. It plays a long, excruciating and shambolic music practice; on an instrument that is hard to define. There are two distinct voices, one of pupil and one of teacher and their exchange is at times more embarassing then the music itself. The tape came accidentally into my hands when I wanted to record something and asked my teacher for a blank tape. Years later I put the tape into a player and curiosity led me to fast forward. This piece takes up a good 14 minutes, which I have cut down to 12 by taking out the 'candidate name and number' in order to protect their anonymity. The tape was a big inspiration for my performance piece 'Private Joke' which features a lot of failing as well as the humble determination in such situations when 'the performance must go on'...

Above the pictured cd player is some hand-drawn notation to accompany the soundtrack. Drawn in black ink are various kinds of falling figures and downward scales as well as some jolly italic instructions. Viewers must follow the pattern of the notation as they listen to the music stumbling on.