Sharon Hayes
A performance staged on the streets of London, revolving around a text addressed to an absent lover.
London, 16 May 2009
Sharon Hayes' contribution to Talk Show involved two performances staged on the streets of London on 16 and 17 May, both revolving around a text in which she addresses an absent lover, inserting the language of private correspondence into public speech. Over the course of two days, Hayes spoke beside the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in Victoria Tower Gardens, and also in Trafalgar Square. She was joined by a cameraman and sound recordist whose overt presence questioned the nature of impromptu speech, and the documentary presence of the media.
The artist's recent work has explored the relationship between personal and political desire, and in these works she is interested in provoking questions about what is 'acceptable' in love and what is 'unspeakable' in public. Drawing on the history of the Gay Liberation Movement, and on the current moment, Hayes' performances explore notions of free speech and find new complexity in such classic slogans as 'make love not war'.
Video production by Lightweight Media.
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