What is a Manifesto?
In process (Performance, Research, Writing, Voicing)
From 2024
What is manifesto?
Is it the content, the style of language, the attitude, the action, the space, or the way it is reiterated?
After watching my performance Make It Fit, an audience member came up to me and said, "This is a manifesto." I have been thinking about this for a long time—can something be a manifesto without the person being aware of their own manifesto?
I defined Make It Fit as a speech, a concert, a ritual, a poem, and a manifesto. The word "manifesto" was hidden among the others, making it less prominent. Why did I write this word into the performance description, and why did I try to hide it?
I began my research into the concept of the manifesto through the lens of performance and the performativity of language during my residency at iii workspace.
During this month, I am also trying to reflect on my working method and what I call "situation-specific performance." I am performing as a full-time artist this month: I can only use the materials already present in the space. I need to be honest about the process, embracing changes, new ideas, criticism, doubts, and inefficiency, rather than being result-oriented.
I wrote a score (discipline) for this month’s daily life, and this text before the residency started
Final presentation at Flipchart #17 - Am I live at iii workspace
The performance shows the process and questions that raised from this residency:
First part: A self-statement as a manifesto, presented as a typed text project on the wall.
Second part: A TED Talk-style presentation that explores the concept of the manifesto and performance, merging spoken content with sound composition and exaggerated hand gestures.
Third part: A performance form of a manifesto, standing high on an aerial work platform with a red background, passionately speaking gibberish.
Apart from the performance presentation, I will also have a conversation with Julian Hanna, the author of The Manifesto Handbook: 95 Theses on an Incendiary Form, at Radio Worm, discussing the question: What is a manifesto?
Listen Here
I am now developing a new performance project using various mediums, which serves as a continuation of this research process.
Photo: Pieter Kers pkers@beeld.nu