I heard TALKING IS DANGEROUS, social distant performance art

Photo by Kat Kaye

McCarthy is brilliantly developing a line of performances (as in LAUREN), where she directly engages with technology as a person, consciously re-introducing elements of human vulnerability. “I heard TALKING IS DANGEROUS” is one of the most powerful artworks about the COVID-19 pandemic. It is performed within social distance and with protection masks, starting from a hard truth: talking, even under these conditions, can increase the risk of infection. She documents the meetings she has with people, standing at a distance from their entrance door, and having a conversation spoken through mobile phones’ ability to synthesise typed text. A shown selection of sentences, all spoken with the typical stereotyped machine voice, perfectly renders pains and feelings, deeply touching our inner chords of temporarily suspended sociality.

 

Lauren McCarthy – I heard TALKING IS DANGEROUS