A Lake of Blood (Preyed upon by Evil Angels)

'A Lake of Blood (Preyed upon by Evil Angels)'was a performance piece commissioned by ESPACE ELECTRA for the exhibition ‘Le Voyage Interieur’, curated by Alex Farquarson and Alexis Valliant. The piece was a continuation of my interest in symbols, examples and paradigms through a process of re-animating objects or scenarios which have had solid meanings attached to them.

The performance involved a sculpture of the dead brain of Baudelaire which was played on a gramophone like a wax cylinder. This was a symbol used by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and re-used by Derrida, as an illustration of the materiality of the human brain. I was particularly interested in Derrida’s use of this most mystical symbol with regards to his mistrust of metaphor. I wrote a 12-part love letter/suicide note that was intended to work as a saturated and impassioned argument with Baudelaire’s own rancid and nihilistic poetry.

The piece was accompanied by a live music and video projection which was synchronised to play as I performed my speech. I performed the piece again at Itchy Park III and was invited to include the soundtrack on the Junior Aspirin Album ‘Remove Celebrity Centre’, which also features artists Sue Tompkins and Nathaniel Mellors.

• http://www.junioraspirin.com/releases/as...