Re:Perform The Yellow Men

A Blue Oyster Performance Series
Presented in association with the 2013 Dunedin Fringe Festival

Part I of Re:Perform was born out of the interest in the publishing practice of newspapers that regularly run a ‘This Day in History’ section. Selecting a number of historical events and re-presenting them as connected by the sole common feature of their occurrence on one particular day raises the issue of selective narrativisation and the problematic construction of history through approved media outlets. Working with the Otago Daily Times from the period 26 February - 14 March 2012 The Yellow Men will select an aspect of an article from the same day one year ago and reinterpret it through their performative practice.

Each performance will result in the creation of an object that will then be displayed at the Blue Oyster. And each newspaper will be available to read in the News Archive. Touching on ideas of repetition, trivia and the banal, The Yellow Men re-serialise the day-in / day-out process of newsmaking to the point where the context of newsworthiness becomes entirely amorphous. We even have a celebrity birthday archive!   

In Part II of Re-Perform The Yellow Men will select an event from the 2012 Dunedin Fringe Festival to re-perform each day in the Blue Oyster’s shipping container located in the Festival Hub in the lower Octagon. As in Part I their work will explore the process of selection, but rather than the news process Part II will interrogate the idea of ‘Fringe’ and what defines this already marginalised categorisation.

Click to view video documentation (Vimeo)

The Yellow Men are Clarke Hegan and Jed McCammon, both recent BFA graduates from the Dunedin School of Art. They collaborate as a performance duo who cite Gilbert and George as a major influence on their practice.