The Pathetic Things That Artists Do

From 2010-2012, April Grosvenor and I worked collaboratively in a series of live bodily performances and film experiments which challenged how we connected with an audience. We worked under the title The Pathetic Things That Artists Do; a name inspired by a comment made by an audience member whilst in the moment of a performance, which contextualised our desperate need to connect.

As two female artists working collaboratively in performance, we purposely put ourselves into awkward situations to evoke a reaction from our audience, whether it was rejection, acceptance or interaction. We performed to create a visual dialogue with the use of photography, film and textiles between our audience, but most importantly ourselves. We could not describe why we did the things we did, but we could describe that we felt comfortable doing these actions together, therefore we celebrated the unique connection between us.

The Capsule (2011-2012)

We conducted public performances with a 3 meter jersey cotton tube which we referred to as ‘The Capsule. Its concept was to form connections with those around us whilst becoming embodied inside of the structure. We saw it as a social intervention which allowed people to question, relate or confront us as an attempt to connect. It was these responses from our audience which drove our actions and how each performance was played out.

The transportable capsule led us to experiment with 'site based capsules' which connected multiple wearers and create a shared experience.

The Bread Series (2011)

The red thread flows through our mouths across a cafe table, which is supported by the makeshift bread base we have used to stitch into and devour. These lines connect us and without it, we cannot share each other. Our audience draw their information from the connotations we project. 

Our actions are linked by adapting to the prop; it is crude, yet we give it meaning. We hand stitch each slice of bread, choose the colour of the wool and place it into our own situation.  

Hoods (2010)

In today’s culture, hooded jumpers (or in more colloquial terms, the 'hoodie') are used to conceal one’s identity from the public and CCTV. This project took an ironic twist as we purposely put ourselves in the public eye and exposed ourselves through a ritual; binding our hooded faces together with the act of sewing. We performed in a variety of textile based environments, ranging from a workshop, a formal exhibition space and a knitter’s social in order to be socially engaged with our audience and feel accepted. Primarily, the need for acceptance is what drove this piece of work, both on a personal and social level. The pieces would often become endurance performances as we shared the same head space and inhaled each other’s breaths inside our hooded environment.