Performance

LEGS II

2023, OCAD University Great Hall, Toronto

Photography by Henry Chan

Together with lo bil we initiated the second Toronto iteration of *LEGS.

I performed a simple action of emptying six bags of soil onto the floor and setting up a hand washing station in the corner of the hall. I then shaped three small mounds in a row, washing my hands clean in between each formation.

*LEGS is is an all-day performance art relay. Participating artists are suggested by other participating artists, snowballing a self-organizing event that is disinterested in traditional curation.

The form of the event is dictated by a chosen duration which is then divided equally by the number of performance artists from the local community who are invited to participate. On December 16, 2023 second Toronto iteration the audience witnessed a continuous performance work made up of seven-minute performances over the course of seven hours.

Founded on a belief in community trust, performative dialogue and artistic self-determinacy, the resulting collective event lets participating artists be responsible not only for the continuous stream of idea- and image-making, but also for the realization of event itself. There is no staff, no coordinator, no stage manager, only artists working together. LEGS is a manifestation of the social and performing body through the collective network and expanded community.

The first iteration of LEGS was presented in Montréal on February 7, 2015, at Le Cercle Carré. The score and format of the event was initially imagined by an informal collective of artists (including Christian Bujold, Michelle Lacombe, Marie-Claude Gendron, Nadège Grebmeier Forget, Katherine-Josée Gervais and Jean-Philippe Luckurst-Cartier) and was created with the intention of activating and making-visible the often fragmented local performance art community.