BUREAUCRATIC EROS // ALAS! POETIC EROS (2020)
A PERFORMANCE PROTOCOL BY SALL LAM TORO
PART I: REGISTRY
1. READ THE GUIDELINES PAGE IN THE FORM
2. GET A WIG, BRUSH/COMB (TO BE USED LATER) AND A LIPSTICK AND PUT THE WIG AND LIPSTICK ON
3. PUT ON THAT SAME LIPSTICK AND PUT ON THE WIG
4. FILL OUT THE FORM
5. TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH TO COMPLETE THE REGISTRY AND SEND IT TO salllamtoro@salllamtoro.com
PART II: TRAINING
1. SIT IN A CHAIR LINE ROW IN FRONT OF ONE ANOTHER // IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE ALONE JUST DO IT IN A CHAIR IN FRONT OF A MIRROR
a. DESCRIBE THE WIG YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU OUT LOUD (THIS STARTS WITH THE SECOND PERSON SITTING IN THE ROW AND THEN SWAP)
b. DESCRIBE HOW IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED OR BRUSHED IF NEEDED
c. YOU SHOULD HAVE A BRUSH NEXT TO YOU OR A COMB. USE IT.
d. BE SLOW AND TAKE YOUR TIME IN THIS TASK
e. COMPLIMENT THE WIG
f. ASK THE PERSON WEARING THE WIG IN FRONT OF YOU TO TURN THEIR HEAD IN BOTH SIDES
g. REPEAT THE WHOLE EXERCISE 3 TIMES
PART III: ASSESSMENT
1. EXCHANGE FEEDBACK REGARDING THE EXERCISE AND EVALUATE// SELF-EVALUATIONS ARE ALSO ACCEPTABLE AND THEY MUST BE SEND OUT TO salllamtoro@salllamtoro.com
2. SALUTATIONS // SELF-SALUTATIONS IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR
This participatory live performance piece is inspired by Frantz Kafka’s novels in which the author has developed a literary style based on the concept of ‘bureaucratic eros’ whereby “organizational and technological change is not some process of rationalization, but instead must be poetically understood as metamorphosis” (Ossewaarde, M., 2018). Kafka in his novels renders bureaucratic processes as highly sexualized absurd instances devoid of intimacy or love, however, Sall Lam Toro re-signifies ‘bureaucratic eros’ in an attempt to bureaucratize a practice of wig wearing, ultimately as the sole purpose for existence in a new futuristic society. Here, Sall attempts to focus on producing sensuous and poetic aspects within registry and performance formalizing the bureaucracy of wig wearing.
Curated by Tina Madsen as part of Nordic Sessions event # 1: bureaukrati, formularer, skemaer
www. performance-protocols.net
