Welcome to the Objecthood

[photo: Ivi Rosin]

In response to the topic of NU Performance Festival 2018 – Object with Audience – 70 limited edition Object Hoods were made by hand prior to the festival and then distributed gradually during its opening night. The black hoods featured unidentified objects, printed in white with photopolymer letterpress. Throughout the night, Hannah Harkes as ‘object’, ‘objectifier’, and ‘objecthood’ itself, placed the hoods on the heads of selected audience members, chosen for their perceived readiness to join The Objecthood. Once wearing the hoods, audience members became objectified, in the state of being objects. Collectively, we formed The Objecthood, an exclusive brotherhood of Object Hood wearers. Members of The Objecthood could keep their hoods as documentation and proof that they attended the performance.

[photo: Ivi Rosin]
[photo: Ivi Rosin]

From NU Performance Festival Newspaper:

VII NU Performance Festival: Object with Audience

“The focus of this NU Performance Festival is the timeline and performative possibilities of object art, and performances that reinterpret the role of the audience as a part of the performance, both in the individual as well as collective experience. […]

One could ask what does objecthood perform? When it comes to the performativity of an object, we have looked at how the time on stage transforms the reception of an object, with the dramaturgy of the space adding to how the work is seen and interpreted. The artwork itself is often not the end result – on the contrary, it can serve as a platform and meeting place in a collective experience. This, in turn, leads to a transformation of audience relations. For instance, the audience can discover that they are almost alone in the theatre or looking at the performer like they would look at an image or looking at each other and themselves in such a way that sees the outlines of the artwork vanish.”

[photo: Ivi Rosin]
[photo: Ivi Rosin]

[photo: Hannah Harkes]

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