how lawful are the citizens of your local streets?
reform is a unique intervention & darkly comic performance work with live radio broadcast for a small audience to take on-foot in the city streets. pvi’s elite social control taskforce the loyal citizens underground attempt to become model citizens and reform wayward behaviour by adhering to all local laws ‘to the letter’. a radical vision of community watch gone awry, the l.c.u take the moral high ground to see who else is willing to reform. audiences station themselves in coffee shops, bus stops and street corners to tune in with portable fm radios and witness a ripe underbelly of civil disobedience emerge amongst unwitting shoppers, tourists and restaurant goers. as unflinching moral crusaders they attempt to implement their own brand of patriotic conformity – applauding good behaviour and offering neighbourly advice to any wayward citizens.
reform casts a cynical eye over the politics of public safety and the rules we live by. presenting a not-too-fictional orwellian vision of the future where our every move is monitored for political correctness. reform is the first in pvi collectives’ ‘future belongs to crowds’ series which investigates how different modes of collective behaviour can generate social change.
click image to view the project gallery
testimonials
“
but we conform like sheep, obediently holding hands and crossing the road, practising our non-loitering dance and delighting in our anonymity. pvi collective’s – reform is a novelty and a riot.
kate herbert
”
devised & performed by: pvi collective with guest performers and guest artists ben sutton, sarah wilkinson and martyn coutts
soundscapes by: jason sweeney [aka pretty boy crossover]
production manager: mike nanning
researcher: dr christina lee
on-site performers: sarah wilkinson, belinda massey, michael ford, andrew bretherton, chris & michelle atkinson de garis, alee bevlaqua
lcu on patrol is a short film for video was developed from reform.
recorded via hidden cameras,sees elite taskforce, ‘the loyal citizens underground‘ patrol the city streets attempting to become model citizens. a radical vision of community watch gone awry, the l.c.u take the moral high ground to see who else is willing and able to reform.
armed with code of conduct cards and an overzealous enthusiasm for current legislation, laws & social standards, the l.c.u discover a ripe underbelly of civil disobedience amongst unwitting shoppers, tourists and restaurant goers. as unflinching moral crusaders they attempt to implement their own brand of patriotic conformity – applauding good behaviour and offering neighbourly advice to any wayward citizens. vigilantism has never been so polite…
for the video, each performer was wired up for sound via hidden mics enabling audio conversations to be heard on-screen. lcu on patrol casts a cynical eye over the politics of public safety and the rules we live by. presenting a not-too-fictional orwellian vision of the future where our every move is monitored for political correctness.
creative team
devised by pvi collective
performed by pvi artists james mccluskey, jackson juliani, ofa fotu and chris williams with guest artist, eleanor hopkins.
performance history
mori gallery, darling harbour, sydney, nsw , 4 feb – 30 mar 2007
the yellow vest syndrome, group exhibition, fremantle arts centre, 31 jan – 29 mar 2009
media
thanks to
performance history
northbridge festival, perth, wa, nov 2008
liveworks festival, performance space, sydney, nsw, aug 2008
salamanca arts centre, hobart, tas, aug 2008
sinagpore national museum, singapore, jul 2008
arts house, north melbourne town hall, north Melbourne, vic, sept 2007
perth institute of contemporary arts, perth, wa, 25 may – 4 june 2006