We’re turning 40!

At the beginning of September, Vitalstatistix presented Adhocracy, our national arts hothouse. Adhocracy featured nine project and around forty artists, all developing new experimental and multidisciplinary artworks. You can read about why Adhocracy (and the artists it supports) are important here.

This year’s commissioned residency project for Adhocracy was Second Hand Emotions, led by Mish Grigor, Sarah Rodigari and SJ Norman with South Australian artists Celeste Martin, Grace Marlow, Jennifer Greer Holmes, Rebecca Meston, Sarah-Jayde Tracey and Suzannah Kennett Lister.

Second Hand Emotions was a queer, unashamedly process-driven and discursive project responding to the provocation of ‘love and feminism’. The Second Hand Emotions zine, produced during the residency, can be seen at Fontanelle’s Love & Feminism exhibition on until 8 October as part of FRAN.

For our (slightly belated!) September blog we are publishing a speech delivered by the Second Hand Emotions lead artists at the opening event on Friday 1 September.

Our next Vital Conversations blog in October will feature a solo interview with artist Rebecca Conroy, also discussion feminist themes of affective and emotional labour, and her work Iron Lady in development with Vitalstatistix and Performance & Art Development Agency during November as part of the Feast Festival.


 

WE TALKED

WE STARTED BY TALKING

WE’VE BEEN TALKING FOR TWELVE DAYS

WE’RE STILL TALKING NOW (AND …..NOW)

WE MADE LISTS

WE INTERROGATED EACH OTHER

WE ASKED NICELY

WE CATEGORISED IT AS A COLLOQUIAL DISCURSIVE MODE

WOMEN SITTING IN A CIRCLE TALKING

(NO, PEOPLE SITTING IN A CIRCLE TALKING)

WE COVERED LOTS OF GROUND

WE DEFINED AFFECTIVE LABOUR

SOME OF US GOOGLED PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS

WE TALKED ABOUT WAVES OF FEMINISM

WE TALKED ABOUT WAVES OF EMOTION

WE WERE LOST IN A SEA OF CONTRADICTIONS.

 

WE WORKED 10-5

BUT REALLY WE STARTED AT 11, THE REAL WORK STARTED AT 11. BEFORE THAT WAS COFFEE, AND WRITING, AND CHECK INS.

WE MADE ANOTHER POT OF COFFEE, WE MIGHT JUST MAKE ANOTHER POT OF COFFEE?.

WE DECIDED NOT TO GIVE ANY HOMEWORK

BUT THEN WE GAVE A BIT, BUT WE IT WASNT REALLY HOMEWORK, IT WAS ALMOST HOMEWORK, SO IT WAS STOOP WORK.

WE TALKED ABOUT EMOTIONS

WE TALKED ABOUT ART

WE TALKED ABOUT POLITICS

WE TALKED ABOUT LIFE

TENDERNESS. RAGE. GRIEF. LOVE

 

WE TALKED ABOUT FUCKING.

THEN WE WOULD GO HOME AND THE REAL WORK WOULD START

THEN WE WOULD DO THE OTHER WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO FOR OUR OTHER JOB, OUR MONEY JOB. THEN WE WERE TIRED BECAUSE WE REALISED WE WERE WORKING ALL DAY AND WORKING ALL NIGHT.

WE WORKED IT OUT

WE INVITED GUESTS

WE BROUGHT IN EXPERTS

WE HAD A SKYPE

WE HARDLY EVER AGREED BUT WE WERE USUALLY PRETTY POLITE ABOUT IT

WE TALKED ABOUT FEMINIST HISTORIES

WE TALKED ABOUT ART HEROES

WE TALKED ABOUT PROJECTS THAT WE MIGHT MAKE

WE TALKED THROUGH OUR HISTORIES

WE DEFINED OUR EXTENDED ANCESTRY

WE TALKED ABOUT INSTAGRAM EYEBROWS

WE TALKED ABOUT THE SOMATISATION OF EMOTIONAL

 

WE ASKED QUESTIONS

WE WERE LATE

WE ARRIVED EARLY

WE SPLIT INTO GROUPS

 

WE DIDNT HAVE A BOSS

WE DIDNT HAVE A LEADER

WE WERE ALL LEADERS

SOME LEADERS SPEAK MORE THAN OTHER LEADERS

WE LAUGHED

WE WONDERED IF SOMEONE WOULD CRY

WE MADE FUN OF EACH OTHER

WE TRIED TO LISTEN

WE TALKED ABUOT THE BODY

WE TALKED ABOUT THE MIND

WE TALKED ABOUT THE CARTESIAN SPLIT

WE TRIED TO EXORCISE THE DEMONS OF THE CARTESIAN SPLIT

WE TRIED TO DISPEL THE MYTH OF THE CARTESIAN SPLIT

WE FELL BACK, EVEN US, ON THE CARTESIAN SPLIT

WE WERENT SURE HOW TO SHARE ALL THIS WITH YOU

WE WERE TIRED AT THE END OF EACH DAY

 

WE WERE TALKING AS A POLITICAL ACT. WE WERE TALKING AS A SPACE OF ACTION. WE TALKED ABOUT TALKING AS A RIGHT AND PRIVILEGE AND WE TALKED IN DEFIANCE OF ALL THE TIMES WE HAVE BEEN SILENCED. WE TALKED TOGETHER IN DEFIANCE OF ALL THE TIMES WE HAVE BEEN ALONE. WE TALKED ABOUT TALKING AS A WAY THAT AFFECTIVE LABOUR MANIFESTS.

WE HAD A WINE

WE HAD A WINE

WE HAD A WINE

WE USED THE WORD CUNT AND RECLAIMED THE WORD PUSSY

WE HAD ANOTHER WINE

WE WENT PERSONAL WE WENT POLITICAL WE WENT INTERSECTIONAL

 

 

WE ASKED QUESTIONS – ARE YOU A WOMAN? HOW DO YOU KNOW?

WHAT SHAPE DOES RAGE TAKE? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE VIOLENT?

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CARED FOR SOMEONE?

 

WE ASKED VIRGINIA WOOLF, WE ASKED AUDRE LORDE. LESLEY FEINEBERG. MAGGIE NELSON. NINA SIMONE. TWIN PEAKS.

 

MY BACK CATALOGUE YOUR BACK CATALOGUE

WE WONDERED IF YOU CAN COMMUNICATE TWELVE DAYS OF CONVERSATION IN FIVE MINUTES

WE WONDERED IF WE COULD ENCAPSULATE IN THAT OUTCOME ON WHAT IS INHERENTLY AN OPEN ENDED NON DIDACTIC MULTIFACETED DIALOGICAL SPACE OF SELF REFLECTION AND SHARED FRUSTRATION

WE FIGURED OUT THAT YOU CANT ENCAPSULATE IT

 

WE FIGURED THAT YOU CANT EXPRESS IT

THERE’S NOTHING IN HERE ABOUT COLONIALISM

BUT WE KEPT IT IN THE ROOM, ALWAYS

WE TRIED TO KEEP IT IN THE ROOM, ALWAYS

WE STARTED OUR FORTNIGHT WITH A DECOLONISING GESTURE, AND WE CARRY THAT WITH US NOW, AT THE END.

 

WE WONDERED WHAT ELSE WE MIGHT TAKE AWAY FROM IT ALL

WE PROPOSED MOVING SILENCE INTO ACTION

WE WONDERED WHAT WE MIGHT IMPART TO YOU

WE WANT TO SAY THANKS FOR HAVING US

WE THINK WE’LL BE THINKING ABOUT THIS FOR A WHILE


Image: The entire Second Hand Emotions artists on the final night of Adhocracy.