ashowabouttime, Milch Gallery, London. 1999
‘Leg Pulling’ was an exploratory performance that utilized tricks, jokes and novelties to create an extended action. Each element focused on the upset or unbalancing of what is the ‘normal’ state of another body, accompanied by social humiliation of the subject of the joke. The jokes are private pieces of theatre; many focus on taboo (dis)functions of the body. Humour is a source of consolation and defense against the unknown and inexplicable, the inappropriate or incongruous, accidental or simulated.
For a day the artist ‘acted out’ props from a joke shop; fake vomit, xray specs, comedy breasts, fake dog shit, pop-up penis, joke gun, rubber bat …
She then drew each action as a cartoon on the wall.
The audience became unwitting accomplices or victims of the jokes, as the artist moved between an everyday and acceptable theatre to something more threatening.
The residue of actions, the drawings and table of props remained as trace installation.
