Self by Proxy

This performance program, Self by Proxy took place in multiple spaces at the Meat Market Stables and featured new performances created for Octopus 19: Ventriloquy by James Rushford and Rachel Yezbick, Kate Brown, Jake Moore, Carolyn Connors, Sage Pbbbt, Jenny Barnes. The works, as a suite, explored the idea of the self as always at the outset delegated, substituted, prosthetic, and other.

Melbourne composer James Rushford and Los Angeles-based moving-image artist Rachel Yezbick premiered a new collaborative performance titled 'And Laid Him On The Green' for multiple projections, live conversation, prerecorded sound, and vocal ensemble. The work was an experiment in misheard, barely-caught, and residual moments occurring at the intersection of technical capture and human interpretation. Vocalists Kate Brown, Carolyn Connors; Sage Pbbbt; and Jenny Barnes performed alongside Rushford and Yezbick.

Sydney artist Kate Brown also presented a solo work exploring the sonic flow between internal (as in inside the body) and external architectures and structures. The performance continued Kate's long running practice of turning (and tuning) the voice inside out, and outside in.

Also presenting on the night was be Melbourne artist Jake Moore who present a new work drawing on appropriated recordings of iconic American vocalist and composer Joan LaBarbara, filtered through two speakers, two chairs and a talkbox.

Self by Proxy took place at the Meat Market, with the performances occupying multiple discrete spaces within the warehouse-style venue.