REAL REAL #3

2018

Performance, digital

Artist/s: Ivan Cheng, Eugene Choi, Hyun Lee, Anna McMahon, Brooke Stamp, Athena Thebus, Akil Ahamat, Ainslie Templeton, Enoch Mailangi, Amrita Hepi and Future Method Studio (Genevieve Murray and Joel Sherwood-Spring) performed by Joseph Althouse, Gussy, Jason Phu, Mimi Phu, Verity Mackey, Joanna Brooke, Chloe Kim, Kartika Suharto-Martin

Real Real is a commissioned series that utilises the inherently performative nature of social media as a platform for new performance.

Each edition kicks off with a two week residency at C-A-C that will unfold on Instagram, and will culminate in a streamed performance on Facebook Live.

Live streaming on social media platforms has become a highly contested public space. Legislators are scrambling to regulate what has become a medium weaponised by extremists, activated by community uprisings and utilised by corporate influencers. Real Real explores the limits of this space as a platform for live performance. Social media live streaming has not only changed who can broadcast, but also what it means to be a witness to a live event. Real Real asks how is technology influencing live world experiences?

Real Real #3 is the third instalment of Real Real and celebrated the sumptuous collaboration of Akil Ahamat, Ainslie Templeton and Athena Thebus.

“Giving the camera an experience, each microphone an experience; what seems to condense into a single mythical moment (a private show), is time present, time past, and time future spiralling, folding in on itself anew. I don’t think anything that I think/do/feel/desire is radical, just a burp of an old way. Who wants to be off the road… maybe the highway? Lights on at night. Energizer bunny wears red vinyl gloves. Public speaking is like a drug – that’s why this is private – secret way to feed your passions and transmit a message.”  – Akil Ahamat, Ainslie Templeton and Athena Thebus