#Sergina's Stimulatingly Sexy Simultaneous Simulation of Herself was originally commissioned by The Lowry in Salford Quays as part of the exhibition Right Here Right Now and is a simultaneous performance by multi-bodied drag queen #Sergina, taking place in several places at once, performed by performers of all genders, wearing identical outfits with the same makeup, lip-syncing to the same songs to the same choreography before live audiences, linked up (and broadcast) via Google Hangout. The performance explores the tussle between the grounded organic body (which can be only ever in one place at once) and the digital image, which can be (projected) simultaneously almost anywhere. It also explores gender identity in a world where the physical body is so often no longer co-present with others, and yet where its (digital, ‘enhanced’) image has more power than possibly ever, with huge influence on how one should look and be...
Lasting 17 minutes this performance first took place at The Lowry in Salford Quays (for the opening night of RIGHT HERE/RIGHT NOW) and simultaneously, in Brooklyn, Berlin, Belgrade and Bristol - and was broadcast live via http://thisistomorrow.info/ from The Lowry and (from all venues) via Google Hangout via #Sergina’s YouTube channel: . All songs are written by Elly Clarke in collaboration with different people. Each performance is aided by Handsome Boys and Tech Girls – of all genders.
Following the tradition of instructional artwork artists such as Sol Le Witt Mariana Abramovic or Yoko Ono, and influenced by the way we live now in at least two dimensions simultaneously online & off with the pressure to update both our organic and digital bodies/profiles constantly, the performance sees #Sergina as an organic avatar, or franchise to be rented out, (purchased even?) and consumed. A situation where gestures, like code or like family resemblances, are taught, learned, performed and re-formed, affecting and infecting her locations and their inhabitants differently each time.
The audience is made up of people online (mostly), and offline (fewer). Every stage of Sergina’s coming out - in life, art, in videos and online has been in association with others.
#Sergina has been described as 'post gender' but the artist sees this as justs one element of 'post-physical', where, with most of our interactions taking place online and the importance of being anywhere physically is being called increasingly into question. What happens to the organic body when the digital version looks so much better? Clarke would like that people can recognise themselves in #Sergina, and think about their own use of technology and how it impacts on their own sense of self and relationships.
#Sergina on Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/sergina
#Sergina on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoIcthG1GopxFhGlBCOepQw
#Sergina on Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/ser-gina
#Sergina on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/serg1na