The Festival of Live Art (FOLA) has been rocking and rolling Melbourne’s experimental arts scene for the third year with its provocative, whimsical and unpredictable program. Encapsulating all those three elements, Worktable is a quintessentially FOLA show that takes you out of your comfort zone and invites you to cause destruction — followed by being a part of the restoration.
Worktable is the brainchild of the New Zealand-born Brussels-based unconventional artist Kate McIntosh who hops between the boundaries of performance, theatre, video and installation. Her works focus on the manipulation and distortion of objects and materials, and the development of direct relations with audience members.
In that sense, Worktable doesn’t come as a surprise. Therapeutic, creative and destructive, this offbeat show/workshop is a live installation with you at the centre. An ultimate laissez faire self-experience, the journey starts with the participant selecting an item from a random array objects, including typewriter, stiletto, toaster, pair of socks, Chinese vase etc. on your worktable, you’ve got all sorts of handyman tools – think hammer, hacksaw, tongs, nails, bolts. Then they’re asked to disjoint/ smash/dismantle their item, which brings out the type of destructive soul one harbours inside. The second phase of the experience goes the other way, in which the participant is asked to fix an object broken into pieces by previous visitors.
Worktable is surely nothing like you’ve taken part before and is an intimidating yet liberating experience. After you lose yourself in entropy, you then become a part of the order and the solution. Roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, and discover a thing or two about yourself.
– Busra
Busra crossed the oceans and made a comeback to her beloved city to let herself loose in Melbourne’s refined arts scene.
Worktable runs 14–25 March 2018 at the Arts house as part of The Festival of Live Art. Purchase tickets now.
The venue is accessible.
