this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want.
Description:
this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want. was a performance of keyon gaskin presented as part of a series of live works to accompany the exhibition Touch and Tumble.
Wearing a pink graphic t-shirt, grey sweatpants, red patent pleasers, and an N95 mask with the words “POWER” and “FAILURE” handwritten in black marker, gaskin engaged in different modalities of movement to mobilize the audience as material. Using gestures and non-verbal cues, audience members were repositioned by gaskin throughout the space: they assigned chairs and places to sit on the floor, recruited individuals to carry them, and handed an audience member their phone with instructions to shuffle a playlist composed of songs about power. gaskin responded to the music physically and emotionally by moving, stumbling, dancing, and crying in and around the audience.
Their spatial response also included olfactory elements: coffee grounds from a Tim Horton’s tin were scattered across the floor, while other areas of the floor were cleaned with a red rag soaked in Pine-Sol. As gaskin navigated the Grand Luxe Hall, intimate proximities emerged that challenged the traditional divide between performer and spectator, and the social hierarchies intrinsic to institutional spaces. The hour-long performance ended without applause, leaving the audience suspended in the tension of the room.
Presented with the support of the Government of Canada.
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Captions:
keyon gaskin, this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want. (2017), photo documentation, Jun 4, 2022. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
keyon gaskin, this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want. (2017), photo documentation, Jun 4, 2022. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
keyon gaskin, this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want. (2017), photo documentation, Jun 4, 2022. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
keyon gaskin, this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want. (2017), photo documentation, Jun 4, 2022. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
keyon gaskin, this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want. (2017), photo documentation, Jun 4, 2022. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
keyon gaskin, this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want. (2017), photo documentation, Jun 4, 2022. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
keyon gaskin, this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want. (2017), photo documentation, Jun 4, 2022. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
keyon gaskin, this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want. (2017), photo documentation, Jun 4, 2022. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
keyon gaskin, this is an artwork/ this is for you/ you are a community/ you are my material/ this is a prison/ leave when you want. (2017), photo documentation, Jun 4, 2022. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography.
Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.
We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.