Gathering - Artist Intervention: Tess Denman-Cleaver

Tess Denman-Cleaver was for the fourth in our series of Artist Interventions in our exhibition Gathering .

During her intervention Tess made a multi-layered, text & voice-based performance in homage to the works of Gertrude Stein. Tess’ intervention is part of her ongoing speculative exploration of the effect that radio technology has had on language, literature, and public dialogue, and the potential for this technology as a collaging device.

The text at the heart of Tess’ performance is generated through a series of ‘cultivated motor automatism’ writing exercises, developed by Stein while she was studying medicine in the USA, before she moved to Europe. These exercises decentre the author by encouraging a writing gesture that is responsive to environmental factors including sound. Tess’ adoption of Stein’s ‘motor automatism’ writing methods are also a means by which she creates performance works through process of collage that moves between mediums, contexts and source materials.

Elements of the performance will remain in the gallery after the event in the form of a script and audio broadcast.