The performance of three songs on the night of the gallery opening consisted of an enlisted crowd that performed along with me. Public audience members would have to watch from outside the performance space or on a livestream of the performance that was displayed on a television in another location. This performance would then be repeated every day for the duration of the gallery opening, however, without the enlisted crowd and with open access for anyone to watch the performance within the space. For the remainder of the gallery opening, the room was mostly empty with a few brief visitors, most too intimidated to stay in the space for more than 10 seconds without the company of others.

 

Most of the audience that exists during the opening night is motivated by the experience of the event. Some individuals may be more inclined to ask questions about what or why. I believe that the work can exist in both ways: as an experience for a less engaged audience and as a critique of that same event. Questioning the institution and the idea of the gallery opening while also embracing it. The deceit that exists within my work is also part of its integrity, as, if too honest, the purity is diminished and it becomes a viewing rather than an experience. Continually, the persona that was created to perform leans into values around perception of person, manufacturing fake admiration and engagement on the opening night, contrasted by the lonely experience that is continuing to perform for the rest of the opening.