collaborative performance with Andrée Weschler
"Future of Imagination 7"; Goodman Arts Centre Gallery; Singapore. 2011
Devised for an intimate art scene in which most audience members are known to the artists, participants are invited to sit between Andrée and myself. We place a timer in their hands, then simultaneously whisper in their ears our brutally frank opinions of them as individuals.
The timer buzzes sixty seconds later, bringing an abrupt end to our intensely personal divulgences.
photos by: Nel Lim
performance with Stephanie Senge and Stephanie Pelz
"Solo exhibition"; Raum 58; Munich, Germany. 2006
Artists Stephanie Senge and Stephanie Pelz whisper into my ears, simultaneously and in German, their private opinions of the audience in front of us, each individual in turn, and at random.
Understanding no German, I imitate the sounds I hear as accurately and as immediately as I can. Given the awkwardness of channeling two simultaneous inputs into one output, and of the pronunciation of a foreign language, the sounds I speak range from gibberish to semi-intelligible German, and from general descriptions (“... those are sexy trousers you have on tonight,”) to candid personal sentiments (“... you look like an asshole,”).
As Senge and Pelz would glance directly at whoever they were talking about, people knew when they were the subject of private scrutiny / public depiction, but had no way of determining if the words I was speaking had originated from the whisperer on my left or right side.
photos by: Alex Alluskewitz
performance with Vu Duc Toan and Le Q. Anh Hao
"14th Performance Art Conference"; Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum; Saigon, Vietnam. 2006
Vietnamese artists, Vu Duc Toan and Le Q. Anh Hao, whisper into my ears simultaneously - in Vietnamese - their candid opinions about the 14th International Performance Art Conference which we attended in Dalat and their experiences with the people involved. I speak aloud the sounds I hear from both sides as accurately and as immediately as I hear them. An interpreter translates what he can of my garbled speech into English, so that those present whom were being spoken about could have some access to the thoughts of the Vietnamese artists.
photos by: Rich Streitmatter-Tran