The second half, “This Is” performed by Dick Wong, is less conventional dance than performance art with a strong visual art influence. If the first piece is visceral, the second is all about the cerebral. It's clearly a homage of sorts to Marcel Duchamp, whose repurposing of objects provided the backbone of conceptual art. Wong appears in darkness, then in light, with an insistent voiceover, stating, “This is darkness . . . This is light . . . This is a body. This is the body of a performer.” As Wong uses the lone prop though, a table placed dead centre, which he first walks upon, then hides under, the voiceover takes a darker turn, as it alludes to the depression of a body existing in unhappy solitude, culminating in his unnamed character's suicidal ideation.
This whole piece forces the audience to question the role of both performer and audience member. Is there a clearly delineated role there, even at the biggest arts festival in the world? Would the audience watch a performer put himself in any kind of harm? Undoubtedly, there would be an intervention. Of course, this could never happen because of ethical standards, but by presenting these questions to the audience, we're forced to ask bigger questions about our own role as spectators to art. It's deeply unsettling, stretching even the intro to the point of almost discomfort. Better to be challenged than sit in complacency, or utter indifference.
comments