My PhD examination exhibition ‘Sacrificial Bodies’ is done and dusted and I am proud to say that I passed my oral exam. Pending a few minor amendments to my thesis I will soon be Dr Isaacs (the sixth living Dr Isaacs in my family, but the first non-medical Doctor Isaacs). Thanks so much to everyone who came to see the exhibition and a huge thanks to everyone who made the exhibition possible, particularly my supervisors Julie and Paul, for all their feedback, advice and support; my brother-in-law Peter, my brother Mark, and my good friend Nesha who helped get all my gear into the examination space while I was laid low with Covid; and, most importantly, my wonderful wife Cathrine, for her enduring love and support.
In the coming months I will post some stills from the performance documentation exhibited (videography by the wonderful Motel Picture Company) as well as some more photographs of the exhibition itself, but those images may be somewhat delayed as I have two exciting events coming soon…
The first exciting event is, of course, ‘Carnivale Catastrophe,’ presented by Modern Art Projects Blue Mountains at Cementa22, 19-22 May, 2022. The website for Cementa22 is now live, so you can go check out my artist’s page and/or find out what else I’ll be doing in the program (Cheat notes: I’ll be doing an artist’s talk Thurs 19 May, 10:30-11 and live performances Thurs 19 May, 20:30-21:30 and Sat 21 May, 15:30-16:30). The instagram page for Carnivale Catastrophe is also live so go follow that for regular updates (and follow Cementa and MAPBM if you aren’t already).
Given how little time is left before Cementa and how much work there is left to do, I think I might be too busy finishing off my third Emergency Blanket to make another ‘Work-In-Progress’ post, so here are some recent images from the process:
The second exciting event is LIVE DREAMS presented by Performance Space and Carriageworks! I am thrilled to be presenting my new work-in-development Shivah as part of LIVE DREAMS: THRESHOLD (June 11) curated by Victoria Spence.
“Shivah explores the intersections between mental health, intergenerational trauma, spirituality, and mourning through reflections on the artist’s family history.“
Tickets are available now for only $20, and you can attend in person at Carriageworks or watch the live stream. Each LIVE DREAMS event will be available On Demand until 11:59pm Sunday 19 June. Also, go check out my artist’s page on the performance space website because I think it’s quite nice.
For regular updates on these events and happenings you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.
Carnivale Catastrophe is proudly assisted by the Australian Government through the Festivals Australia program, Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal and NAB Foundation. Emergency Blankets is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
Tom Isaacs 