Statement of facts:
At 10am on 07/10/2020 when the gallery assistant of San Mei Gallery opened the door to begin her shift, she found a gargantuan black ‘shoe’ in the exhibition space.
She couldn’t understand how such a big object entered the gallery space and why it was there. She immediately called the director to advise her about what she had just acknowledged, and while on the call, the strange object started propagating music in the whole room. Since then, the ‘shoe’ kept behaving this way till the present moment.
Investigative hypothesis:
Being familiar with UPOs (Unidentified Performing Objects), my first thought was that the object described by the young woman could be one of them. What didn’t convince me was the size of it and the fact that it was regularly emitting pleasant sounds.
Action plan:
On 29/05/2021 I scheduled a visit to the location with CJ, colleague from TLSB, talented musician and saxophonist.
Through their music, I intend to begin a conversation with the gargantuan ‘shoe’. Speaking its language, my intention is to communicate with it, understanding why and how it reached us; hoping that this would not result in an uncontrollable altercation.
see bottom of the page for full Report
2021, Performance (4 hours), San Mei Gallery, London, UK
Project Winner – San Mei Gallery Solo Performance Open Call
Video documentation (02:45 min)
Fragments of the Report
Handed to the attendees to actively participate in the investigation
Young participants busy trying to reconstruct the full investigation Report, as a puzzle, following the paper cuts.
UPOs (Unidintified Performing Objects)
2020, UPO (C0034 cornillano) – S, Materials after analysis: Flexeine, urethane, silicone, leather, cotton, wood, steel, pigment, acrylic polymer emulsion, polystyrene, cellulose, aluminium, 45x70x45cm each. TSLB certified.
2020, UPO (C0034 cornillano) – H, Materials after analysis: Flexeine, urethane, silicone, felt, cotton, steel, pigment, acrylic polymer emulsion, polystyrene, cellulose, aluminium, 55x68x45cm each. TSLB certified.
2020, UPO (C0034 krishnasaar) – S, Materials after analysis: Flexeine, urethane, silicone, waxed polyester, cotton, butadiene rubber, steel, pigment, acrylic polymer emulsion, polystyrene, cellulose, aluminium, 45x70x18cm each. TLSB certified.
2020, UPO (C0034 krishnasaar) – H, Materials after analysis: Flexeine, urethane, silicone, felt, cotton, steel, pigment, acrylic polymer emulsion, polystyrene, cellulose, aluminium, 55x70x45cm each. TSLB certified.
Mini UPOs
Installation view: San Mei Gallery, London, UK
2020, Mini UPOs, Materials after analysis: Reflexeine, self-hardening paste – epoxy, pigment, solvent, propellant – pigment, acrylic polymer emulsion, acrylic polymer varnish, aluminium, steel, cotton, leather, 10-16x4x10 cm each. TLSB certified.
Report
on behalf TLSB
“This four hour one-off durational performance scored highly on innovative features: one performer was hidden in the titular gargantuan shoe, which was big enough to enable them to play piano unseen; the other two, one with saxophone, sported ludicrously horny headwear and boots, Bosani’s own prongs being directable so that he could point out the audience member next up to receive a scrap of paper containing a tantalising fragment of the show’s narrative arc. So far, so striking, and deconstructing all sorts of expectations in the process.”
Paul Carey-Kent, FAD Magazine
link for ‘C0033: A Life not Lived‘
with: CJ Calderwood, Oly Haylett. Photography: Brando Prizzon, TLSB.
special thanks to Kelvin Atmadibrata for transport and installation.
© Luca Bosani