Instructions for a Call
written by Mark Butcher and performed live by Barbara Bateman as part of My Site | In Space 3 by Switch, July 2008
Two cities. Two rivers. Two generations.
Performance
On a series of notice boards overlooking the Thames is a scripted conversation between the artist, Mark Butcher, and his grandmother. The artist gives participants a mobile phone. The text on the boards instructs them to call Gran in Plymouth and perform Mark’s side of the conversation. Gran performs her side. The artist watches the call being performed.
Commentary
Instructions for a Call is a site-specific piece performed on the banks of Rivers, the Plym in Plymouth, where I grew up, and the Thames in London, where I now live. The piece explores the distance that inevitably grows up between family members and generations. It looks at how we try to bridge this distance and presents a fleeting, unreal moment when we’re once again united.
Images
Click on an image below for a larger version.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Links
Downloads
PDF of the script/text (file size: 661.9kb requires Adobe Acrobat or other PDF reader)
