Cab Drivers

This participatory performance is the culmination of extensive research into the social, economic and political context of the final work, in which invited visitors take part as individuals or in groups, in a taxi relay around Penzance.

I drew on a history of feminist artists addressing their own invisibility as house workers including Womanhouse in LA, 1971; Castlemilk, Glasgow 1990 (for Women in Profile), and the work of the Russian performance artist Masha Chuikova. These projects have emphasized the empowerment of the service worker. It also grew out of my earlier work Perception (‘arttextiles 3’). However, 'Cab Drivers' represents a new perspective by problematising the relationship between the viewer and the provider of services, whether inside or outside the gallery.

This work addressed documentation of live work, as it culminated in instant ‘playback’ of recordings of the journeys. Building on my earlier experimental performance: 'Art in the time of Reagan' (South London Gallery 1/7/06), in which the video recording was immediately projected following the performance to facilitate discussion.

Fran Cottell is an artist and curator who works with 'live' installation and performance.

Originally trained as a painter, she studied Fine Art at the University of Reading [BA, 1977] and graduated from Goldsmiths College [MA, 1981]. In 1979 she was selected for the John Moores Xl Liverpool Exhibition. Between 1986-1988, she co-curated the national touring exhibition 'Conceptual Clothing' with Marian Schoettle for The Ikon Gallery, Birmingham and programmed 'A Meeting Outside Time' - a walk across Hadrian's Wall for 40 women (during a residency with Projects UK); as part of an ACE Performance Artist Placement at Humberside College of Art, she produced 'The Blue Line' - a 12hr city wide student event and video, selected for The National Review of Live Art Glasgow 88.

The early 1990s initiated a move towards installation-based work for Cottell, as she started working on a series of performance collaborations on identity with Caroline Broadhead.

Between 1991-92 Cottell co-curated 'River Crossings' for Camerawork Gallery, a series of lens based site specific works across the River Thames, followed by several collaborative public art projects and gallery installations, as well as series of collaborations with design teams, including Terry Watts, Mike Walker, David Powell associates, Price and Myers, Electrosonic and Levitt Bernstein Associates. Originally part of a GLA Artist Placement, Cottell developed a series of collaborations between residents in the London Borough of Merton and students of Wimbledon School of Art.

In 1997/8 Cottell returned to producing live events and solo projects, having been invited to a residency at Knox College, Illinois, USA and to participate in 'English Women Performance Artists' at The Bunkier Sztuki and Klub Kulturany, Krakow.

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