Anthea Hamilton - The Squash
Explained by the leaflet I picked up in the Tate Britain as: “A solo performer in a squash-like costume [that] inhabits the Duveen Galleries everyday for more than six months.”, I’m not all that sure what to say about this exhibition. I have more questions than answers.
-What was the initial concept meeting like? ‘So I’ve got this vision of a person dressed as a vegetable jumping about in your gallery spaces…’.
-What training is required before you can become a squash?
-How much is The Squash paid?
More seriously, I made the effort to come to this exhibition out of curiosity and actually it was the main talking point of the train journey home. I can’t say I particularly understood the message, if there was one, but I appreciated the way the performer used and interacted with the gallery space, along with how the fluid, moving performer contrasted with the clinical, rigid space. I can now also say that a person dressed in a squash costume has pointed its big squash nose at me long enough to make me feel uncomfortable and slightly self-conscious. An unexpected talent for a vegetable.
Image Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/34660499@N02/41036967391
