kiss club 2019 showcases work in development

kiss club 2019 featured works in development from six local artist who explored a wide range of themes and practices.

this year was the first time the event was delivered over two nights giving artists the opportunity to adjust and refine their work from one night to the next, while getting valuable feedback from audience members.

presented with the perth institute of contemporary arts (pica) this evening was hosted by pvi collective’s steve bull and graeme watson.

Adam bennett, scarlet davis and michelle aitken and rebeeca riggs-bennett collaborated to created goodbye / hello, a participatory work where audience members could send text messages about things in their life they wished to farewell and welcome.

audience members could even get up in front of the microphone and take part in the performance, it produced some insightful, provocative and comical moments.

daley king, who works under the moniker ‘queer and loathing’ presented his work lipstuck. the performance saw daley making lipstick live on stage while audience members shared stories of how lipstick has played a part in different people’s lives.

the stories shared juxtaposed the role lipstick has played in history and personal stories of oppression, judgement and empowerment.

patrick gunasekera ran a trial of his provocative and confronting work a decolonial history of the avant-garde. it is a work that played with how the delivery of works can be manipulated and attitudes can be shaped.

this piece for people talking and created some bold and uncomfortable silences.

jacinta larcombe shared her personal and confronting story with slutdrop, this work drew some gasps and laughs from the audience and took everyone on an emotional journey.

jen jamieson opened the night’s proceedings with her work this is not (personal). centred around mental health and how to create conversations about how we are really feeling, rather than shut them down. jen’s piece saw members of the audience creating message cards that expressed their current mental health state.

dark contrast plunged the audience into a black void illuminated only by torches. the movement based piece utilised mirrors and gave the power of where the light fell to the audience. performed by elizabeth pedler, bugs boyd and jacqui otago it was a mersmerising experience.

at the conclusion of the six performances audience members sat down with the artists and gave feedback on the work they had presented, allowing the artists to gain valuable insights that will shape each piece’s future development.