Performance Details

Expect Disappointment - originally commissioned for the Grunt Gallery by Glenn Alteen

Each performance on the tour will take place outside in a public area with a high volume of foot traffic. The performances will be presented (and partially funded by) Artist Run Centres and other venues across Canada. The Human Faux Pas Collective wants to expose Canadians of every age and cultural background to performance art by bringing their performance out of the gallery setting.

The performance takes place within the plastic membrane of a 1000 cubic foot transparent inflatable cube. The Cube keeps its integrity by a constant supply of air being blown from a high power fan attached to a generator.

The idea of private performance and the delineation of the performance space are what this performance explores. There are certain actions that are meant to be public while others are deemed to be private; in Expect Disappointment we often invert these two. People talk about the existence of a "bubble" around themselves in which they feel there lies a kind of personal private space. Our performance recognizes this space as a site of performance and asks people to engage in a discourse with the nature of privacy. To bring into question this idea in public is to question the notion of public space and the geometry of body space. Our bubble, unlike most peoples, is public and visible. Upon seeing performance inside the cube, a fundamental question about its operation enters the viewer’s mind, "How does the presence of the cube affect what I consider to be performance? And to what extent am I willing to become involved?"

This question is brought to the forefront as The Cube is opened up to the public (they can actually travel through it) and eventually deflated leaving performer and viewer in the same place.

The performance is designed to be portable, weatherproof, and quick to set-up/take down, making it an ideal candidate for touring.