Crawford Art Gallery is delighted to present, as part of its Culture Night 2016 programme a new touring performance written and directed by visual artist Naomi Sex. Featuring Damien Devaney and Darina Gallagher, Cheek by Jowl presents a series of layered, highly descriptive vignettes and sets a claustrophic scene  for  a single ubiquitous character You/One to navigate an abstract, non-place. 

Two actors channel this character with momentum, manoeuvring from side to side profile. The work is punctuated by carefully held, poised poses, choreographed to resonate with the notion of the portraitists’ “sitter”; as the actors move, they are physically connected to one another and are supported by chairs on wheels which remain fixed to their bodies for the duration of the piece

You/One is middle-class, coming to terms with being middle-aged and is operating amidst a culture of distraction. The psychology and mechanics underlying the canonical practices of portraiture informed a starting point and became a way to imagine a performative rendering for a fictional portrait. In that regard, the surface of the body i.e. the skin is referred to throughout the scripted piece denoting aspects of a societal complexion. 

Places for each performance are limited. Admission to the Crawford Art Gallery and Cheek by Jowl is free but ticketed through Eventbrite.ie

Free tickets can booked through Eventbrite for performances at Crawford Art Gallery on Culture Night – Friday 16 September https://www.eventbrite.ie  Performances at 6pm, 7 pm and 8pm. Duration: 20 minutes

This performance was awarded “The Touring Visual Arts Award, 2016” by The Arts Council of Ireland and The Fingal Artists’ Work Scheme.