On December 8th 2022 I presented ‘toward an emblem‘, a slidefilm with live reading, as part of the Huddle series organised by CAMP. I have been interested in the concept of the emblem for a number of years, and wanted to find a way to share some of this in both textual and visual form through a performance on Zoom. The Huddle project was a good opportunity to share this work in progress, and allow space for some dialogue or discussion.
The emblem draws my attention because of its malleability, its function as a communicative device, but one that is unstable, variable, mobile. Bringing together materials or elements from diverse contexts and from conflicting sources, the emblem as assemblage sits awkwardly within categories and classification. Juxtaposing collages that strain taxonomy and poke at order with texts that bring together theory, ornament and repetition the presentation will test what can be said in the present with a worn out or junked vocabulary.
The recording of the zoom live performance of the text and image work ‘toward an emblem’ is online at the CAMP website. My performance runs to 25:39 on the timeline. It is followed by a short Q&A with the online audience, and then there is a presentation by artist Sarah Trotter. Follow the link to the CAMP website HERE and scroll down to December 8 to watch the video.