Scrapbook of a Marxist Conspirator (2011)
A project starting from a scrapbook and leading to actions and works.
This scrapbook began as a way to understand the truth behind the detainment of a group of young activists in Singapore in 1987. I took on the role of one of the activists and researched archives and a book she wrote. Inserting myself in place of her in reproduced research and archival documents, I wrote diary entries imagining my life as she did.
After some time, I felt that by seeking to re-trace history, I was ironically erasing her out of what I had captured. I decided to continue the scrapbook as one based on my own life, where I document events or incidents where my decisions and interactions coincide with this so-called "Marxist Conspiracy". Examples include a workshop I conducted on the function of silence in history (Totalkunst, Edinburgh, 2011) and a performance with Gwenan Davies and Berit Talpsepp about the diversions of Marxism (Mutual Assembly, Glasgow, 2011).
Exhibited at:
The Mutual Assembly
with a performance, Diversions (with Gwenan Davies & Berit Talpsepp)
Miller Street, Glasgow
April 2011
Workshop at:
Totalkunst, Edinburgh
August 2011
Curated by David Berridge (VerySmallKitchen) and Mirja Koponen (Totalkunst Gallery)
