Demo Touring Teenagers

Elizabeth Price Curates: In a Dream You Saw a Way To Survive and You Were Full of Joy is a Hayward Touring Exhibition curated by Elizabeth Price which included: 'Demo Touring Teenagers'

This performance event employed 16 teenagers.

'Demo Touring Teenagers' was shown at The Whitworth, Manchester 2016 and Glynn Vivian Gallery, Swansea 2017.

Dimension: 5 x 3.5 x 6.5 m.
The ramp from Vito Acconci’s performance Seedbed, 1972 is reconstructed. Placed on top is a partially rolled out 11 x 5 metre roll of Berber Carpet. On Saturdays a group of teenagers reside on the ramp and unravel threads using instruction sheets, scented liquids and apparatus provided. Unpicking threads are amplified through contact mics. A photograph of Seedbed can be viewed in relation to a view of underneath the ramp.

Immaterial and creative labour in adolescence is unpacked, performed and articulated over time. Vito Acconci’s performance Seedbed provides a specific reference to the recumbent, fruitless – seeding body. The work began with basic instructions which became worker led leading to unknown relational outcomes. Methods of critical pedagogy are explored. Channels of communication and documentation were kept open through a WhatsApp group. An accelerated slideshow is available for educational talks only.