DIY: 2016 – Eloise Fornieles ‘You’re an Animal!’

THE DEADLINE FOR THIS DIY HAS NOW PASSED

An opportunity to make an animal of yourself

Project summary

You will be working on how to develop anthropomorphised animal characters and the ways in which these characters can be used to deconstruct and create modes of identity. This DIY will include a visit to London Zoo, a workshop on performing as an animal persona, developing online profiles for each persona and attending a Furry meet.

This project is about understanding the animal nature of humans and the ways in which anthropomorphised characters can re-examine established identity narratives.

We will attempt to implode our perception of how we relate to our bodies and reconstruct an original way of performing identity. We will ask whether our attitudes to animals affect our opinion of what it is to be human? And can animal personas disrupt the androcentric, patriarchal structures which influence narratives?

Participants

The participants can be from various levels of experience.

The application requires a selection of up to 5 images of your work (where possible), a short statement on your current practice, and why you would like to participate.

Dates, times and location

Dates: Sun 16 October and Sat 29 October
Times: TBC
Location: London Zoo (16th), then Delfina Foundation and Jamie's Bar (29th)
This DIY is supported by Delfina Foundation

The artist

Eloise Fornieles’ practice is predominantly performance based, investigating the complex ways in which we perform personal identity and how large groups of established individuals partake in performing collective identity.  In 2014 Fornieles and Dan White founded a performance art group called The Perverts in which they dress as animals. Their ethos is to pervert appropriated sound and language to create their own political construct. The source material is taken from mainstream media, political figureheads, religious rhetoric and a wide range of cultural influences that include pop songs, poets and preachers.

Animals reoccur throughout Fornieles’ work, using their physical presence, symbology and cultural signifiers as a way of examining our relationship with nature, modes of identity and what is considered ‘wild’.