(5 / 5)
André Stitt has been one of those names in Cardiff circles, more specially artistic circles. Perhaps most infamous for a proposed kicking curry down a street in Bedford entitled ‘White Trash Curry Kick’, Stitt has made a name for himself not just with this idea. Heralding from Northern Ireland there has always been a political edge to his craft, aside from performance proper he has emerged as a painter also.
In his work The Institution, Chapter Arts Centre saw an installation which lasted a month back in 2005. This is roughly the time I would start going to Chapter, though my engagement with performance art was minimal back then, merely a child of sorts. Twenty years has passed since that fateful showing and in 2025 was a different offering in some regards. What we were presented with now was a durational work, in the studio space, materialising with collaboration with three other international artists. Stitt has made Wales his home now and work like this proved its potency.
There is great deal to unpack with The Institution (Revisited). Who exactly are the people in our lives, the powers that be and our control over our own body, persona and mind? This melding of spirits, fellow artists Charlie Lockwood, Jamie McMurry and Sinéad O’Donnell all added greatly to this most peculiar and revelatory proceedings. Imagery which will stay in the mind for months, through essential well trodden performance art ideas of gunk, messy floors crammed with various powders, food stuff, props and set pieces. Stitt began with flinging into the a corner of the space items from the original run of The Institution, mugs and plates were the bulk of these mementos. He took a heap of child vests and underwear and mercifully dunked many of them into what would appear (and smell) to be drenched treacle.
Images from André Stitt personal Facebook
A tower is haunting the space which becomes a freighter for the saturated child garments. Noted as well was Stitt’s break downs for this passage of the work, he said later this was for those who were no longer with us and that it was about love. Mirrored by this surprise speech at the end, was a scalpel used to cut his leg with the word ‘Love’, to commemorate those who had gone. Many moments were deeply disturbing and also very touching. Stitt as a sort of circus leader, gives the other artists chances to share their own ideas and endurances to dizzying effect.
Charlie Lockwood is familiar to South Wales audiences in performing circles. We see some typical ideas heard of in the craft, nudity, urination, rolling in dirt and more. Charlie’s presence changes several times over the hours, a social worker with a bed of tooth brushes, documentation slammed onto a wall, shaving head hair and burial mounds are created throughout. Charlie is the youngest of the set and exposes themselves to great venerability. It’s very touching.
Jamie McMurry is an American performance artist and is great to watch. His comic timing is also very sharp, his regurgitation of dye and water onto a clothes line is explosive and energetic. He becomes a sort of bureaucrat scribbling down names and pasting them to another wall. Sinéad O’Donnell was the first to emerge after Stitt’s first phases. Within the tower sculpture, she evoked Marina Abramović, a performance icon, appearing fulled nude and with strobes of red covering her body. She is blown with a fan and uses a large cardboard tubing to look out as if at sea. Searching is the theme and didn’t last long enough.
When the four met and comforted one another, there were moments of great sensation. You cannot sit through a five hour work (I stayed through, no breaks) and not be moved, mediated and trigged in equal measure. A bout of camp with Stitt in silver boots and a furry tail, as he blindly flared around the space picking up degree as he went. There was worries over if he would accidentally hit audiences members or other artists in this friction. Salt, aforementioned treacle, mashed potatoes, soil, toothpaste and medication are the catalogue of foods and they mostly go down on the floor for the most part. Spectators are advised to be careful moving around the space due to this, the splash zone was frequently altering throughout. Stitt finally fury with the bucket with treacle saw a wig drenched in the stuff and wallet getting splashed also.
Within these happenings lied a great amount of endurance and emotional feats. Out of all the work I’ve ever seen created in my home town this is one of the most impactful. You don’t quite see something like this often. Perhaps Stitt’s march around the tower with placards might be the most telling image, as Lockwood’s soundscapes from personal chosen imagery from each artist matched his and McMurry’s food steps to the greatest effect. That’s what will stay with me.