A duet for two women and two skirts, Our Gestures Are No Longer Ours is inspired by the notion of spectacle as posited by Guy Debord. In his Society of the Spectacle, Debord posits that the capitalist society consumes all our gestures and then reflects them back to us so that “our” gestures do not belong to us, but are rather merely cheap copies of an original that is no longer even possible to locate. 

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In Our Gestures Are No Longer Ours, this idea of the borrowed/stolen/corrupted gesture is explored through dissociation: of the body from itself, of each performer from the other, of action from context. Creating an atmosphere of absurdity, the piece questions the idea of authenticity and honesty in performance.

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Our Gestures Are No Longer Ours was initially presented at the Scotiabank Dance Centre as part of the 12 Minutes Max program, and later saw performances at Art Spring Salt Spring Island. 

 

The second phase of development was supported through a residency at the Unit/Pitt gallery. To read the artists' writing in response to the residency, click here.

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