- Home
- About WHITE MARKET
- Events
- Rose Royce
- Royal Pleasures, Darmstadt
- Cabbage Heads, Brighton UK
- Still Life with Cabbage, Brighton UK
- Auction of the Trophies, Darmstadt
- Trophäen/Trophies, Darmstadt Germany
- [not] performing artist, Venice Italy
- Liquidation at the Klohäuschen, Munich Germany
- Market Stall, International Fruit Market, Munich
- The Tower of Babylon, Munich Germany
- grenzArt Part 02, Kirschau Germany
- WM Workshop, Berlin Germany
- Guests at Café 'Loretta', Munich Germany
- On tour at the Gasteig, Munich Germany
- Something Useful, Underground Station 'University', Munich Germany
- Between Activism and Reflection, Munich Germany
- Veranstaltungen
- WM business development
- Artists
- Contact
Still Life with Cabbage, Brighton UK
Still Life with Cabbage
The Quad, University of Brighton
Friday, 15th July 2011, 19:50 - 20:05
WHITE MARKET collaborated with LOST PARADE for two performances as part of the Soundwaves Festival 2011.
A couple of piles of cabbages, one red and the other white, lie close to a square patch of lawn. In the centre of the lawn a group of microphones is set up.
Five well-dressed females in costumes or suits and high heals arrive to pick up cabbages and distribute them evenly over the lawn as in a peculiar kind of bowling game. When the two piles have been distributed the performers position themselves around the edge of the lawn, take off their shoes and begin to climb onto the closest cabbages carefully avoiding touching the grass.
Awkwardly balancing, rolling and posing on the cabbages they move towards the centre of the lawn. When a performer falls off her cabbages and touches the lawn she stands up and pauses briefly before beginning again.
When the first performer reaches the centre with the microphones she positions herself on a set of cabbages, picks up a cabbage close to her and begins to peel the outer leaves. After the silence of the first part this creates a soundtrack of gentle cracking and ripping noises. As more performers arrive and peel cabbages the volume and amplitude of the sounds increases. The game turns into a competition as to who first peels the whole of the cabbage and bits of leaves fly across the spaces. Suddenly and simultaneously two performers raise an arm with a mere stump of cabbage core each in their hands, both having finished at exactly the same time. This brings all other performers to a halt.
Photos: Conall Gleeson
After a moment the performers relax and begin to bite into whatever they have left in their hands, purposefully munching the leaves and turning round to the audiences, observing the observers. Some members of the audience join in and eat crisps or whatever they have in front of them.
The performers stand up and continue to munch, walking over to members of the audience and offering leaves, inviting them to taste for themselves and leave the space.
In the performance a number of stereotypes collide to allow for the unexpected. The professional woman meets an ordinary vegetable to engage in a competitive game that leads to nothing particular. However, the materiality of the cabbage allows for both physical explorations as well as sensuous and auditory experiences that defies the parameters of the everyday.
for further images also see:
Still Life with Cabbage, Flickr photo stream by Roger Harmar
See also a second performances at the Soundwaves Festival 2011:
Cabbage Heads
Location: The Café, University of Brighton
Sunday 17th July 14 – 20.30
Photos: Conall Gleeson