Appealing,2019
Performance and Installation




Photos by Jules Lister
In Appealing, the figure of the mother is performed washing, peeling and cooking potatoes, which are then served to the audience. Set within a minimal kitchen space, the mother figure is silent for the duration of the performance, completely absorbed in the action of transforming raw potatoes into buttery mash. The mountain of potatoes next to her representing the infinite nature of the menial task.
Through repetition of this ritualistic performance, a relationship between the audience and performer is established. The audience are inadvertently invited to participate in the deconstruction of the installation, consuming the food created, leaving behind a residue of the action that has taken place. Although a silent figure the actions of the performer shift the audience from passive viewers to active members of a community, united by the act of eating.
