Movers

Lindsey Cash / 2014

The multilayered work of Australian artist Linda Tegg spans photography, video, performance, and installation, all the while addressing human behavior and reaction within specific, controlled scenarios. Her work has considered, for instance, how performance can occupy and alter – or not – the private space. Through a variety of wildly creative, somewhat peculiar situations, Tegg asks both the audience and her collaborators to engage in and embrace uncanny staged instances.

Don’t mind me. Carry on.

Unfolding over the course of two days, Tegg’s performance-video contribution to Don’t Talk to Strangers depicts an intriguing clash – before the viewer’s eyes, the everyday happenings of a family’s home is contrasted with the presence of a naked performer.

Prompted by Tegg, a nude, empty-handed dancer enters a warm domestic living room. Moving in slow motion, the dancer’s unexpected presence jarringly stands out against the daily activity of the occupants, who appear unfazed by, and even unaware of, the stranger’s company. Upon the completion of the performance, the dancer leaves with a personal item, in one case, the family’s favorite plant, which was ultimately placed within the gallery. A wholly original vision, Tegg’s work poetically and intimately integrates art into the quotidian.

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