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| Site specific live art and performance in and around Penzance, Cornwall, over three weekends. Summer 2006 | ||||||||||
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| Information on this site will be updated as part of the Tract Live Art Programme | ||||||||||
Archive Gino Saccone Morph Performed at Penlee Park Saturday 23rd September
Gino’s work was, deliberately, one of the least visible of all the performances. He was hidden in the uppermost branches of a majestic tree in the middle of Penlee Park, crudely wrapped in shiny silver plastic so that he was partially visible, but not immediately recognisable as a human form.
There were no signposts or clues as to where he was, and visitors to the park were given binoculars in order to help them in their search. I spent at least five minutes finding him. Proud of having done so, though, I was immediately joined by hordes of children and young teenagers who stood with me looking up into the cool green leaves of the tree.
His presence evoked a range of responses. Gino had been there for several hours, and was so still, that none of the audience knew whether or not he was just a mannequin. Some of the children seemed to want to test this by throwing sticks at him. Others expressed genuine concern at his welfare, and one even suggested that I go and get some help.
For me this evocative and uncanny piece was a kind of reworking of art from the 70s in which the artist became merged with nature: except in this case the work seemed to also refer to the 80s, and to sci-fi films in particular ‘Predator’ featuring Arnold Swarznegger. Not only were there visual parallels with ‘Predator’ but also the performance had a vaguely threatening quality that was similar in the way it unsettled its audience.
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Photography
by Steve Tanner