Performance
My performance work 'An Arms Manifesto' developed from an installation of found objects; a jumper stretcher, a pair of World War II crutches, and a pair of hand carved shoe lasts. Together they formed a strange hybrid figure, sculptural and strong, connecting ideas of hand-made craft, family and community, war and human vulnerability.
The coat of arms theme was developed further when I read a New York Times article about Donald Trump appropriating a coat of arms, without permission, for his own use. He simply changed the motto from "Integritas" to "Trump".’
A version of this article appears in print on May 29, 2017, on Page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: A Coat of Arms Said ‘Integrity.’ Now It Says ‘Trump.’
The performance develops the theme of arms as weapons of war and love. An alternative coat with 5 metre long arms symbolises a wide, human circle of embrace. The latest performance included here was filmed outside during lockdown in 2021, and exemplifies our human vulnerability and disconnection in the face of a global pandemic, in peace, or in war.
This piece was shortlisted for the John Byrne award 2021-2022 under the title ‘How Can We Use Human Vulnerability as a Strength in the Battle for World Peace?’
See the entry here
See the full shortlist here
Watch the video here
An Arms Manifesto. Performance video. Written and performed by Shelagh Brown. Filmed at Duff House, Aberdeenshire, 2018, Aberdeen Artists Society Open Exhibition. Edited 2021.
An Arms Manifesto. Performance video. Written and performed by Shelagh Brown. Filmed by the artist at home in lockdown 2021. Shortlisted for the John Byrne Award 2021-22 under the title: How Can We Use Human Vulnerability as a Strength in the Battle for World Peace?