The artists bio is a trap. The right to write about yourself. Seduced by the lure of the institution, seduced by the lure of perceived online presence, individuality becomes a commodity. The algorithm pushes us to look inwards and backwards in an attempt to stand out from the crowd, to construct a perfected online self, to have CLOUT.
But the bio is itself a tool of commodification, it mediates the art work optimising its reception. We are being observed and baited at all times. As we reference our past and various facets of the self we create doppelgängers. They, like the bio, feed the ego momentarily only to suddenly reveal our sameness. These facets of our personality become attached to us, they dictate the context of our visibility, they restrict and limit, they are violent. We participate in this trap because of our desire to be seen and to be given access to spaces of perceived higher value.
CLOUT is a 4 player performance that serves as a site of exploration of these ideas through writing, spatialised sound, video and movement. Over a number of vignettes we descend through the various levels of the artists psyche and consider the role of the bio with regards to observation, commodification, distraction and control. Throughout the performance I am supported by family members; husband, son and daughter. Together we perform choreographed movements that consider how the private sphere has subsumed the public and ultimately resulted in the materialisation of doppelgängers.
CLOUT
Saturday 09th May
6-7pm
Doors open 5.30pm
South London Gallery, Clore Studio
65 Peckham Rd
SE5 8UH
Performers:
Krystle Patel
Ronit Patel
Euan Patel
Esmae Patel
Tickets available at - https://www.southlondongallery.org/events/shortwave-krystle-patel-presents-clout/