Sarah Browne ~ Becoming Octopus

We are all seen to be performing, whether we want to be or not. How do we assess the measure that we’re performing to, and if necessary, re-negotiate or withdraw from its terms?

Browne’s presentation is informed by her current work in development, Report to an Academy, commissioned by Manual Labours. This work investigates the bodily impacts of the neoliberalisation of the educational workplace through a re-working of a Kafka short story of the same title, where an ape transforms himself into a human and delivers a speech at the academy to impart his learning.

As a somewhat unwilling and unskilled performer, Browne’s presentation will propose a series of questions that depart from an understanding of ‘performance’ as it relates to athleticism, labour, and contract.