The performance End of Days explores issues of survival through the questions of survivalism and AI. In the performance I perform with a variety of objects, materials and themes related to survival and AI. The performance builds up spatial tensions that eventually conclude with the appearance of the best survivor of all, the tardigrade.
The performance is based on a method in which the structure of the work is created from performance scores: letters as instructions for action. In the performance I present a letter printed on paper, say the score associated with the letter (e.g. S = show up) and attach the paper to the wall behind me. Eventually the letters form the word SURVIVOR on the wall. The scores for the performance are:
S show up
U unite
R realise
V disappear
I immerse
V validate
O occupy
R recognise
At the beginning of the performance, a remote-controlled crow appears in the room with the message “It’s not what you have at the end of your life that matters, it’s what you leave behind” (S = show up). Events then follow one after the other: I put a crow on my head (U = unite), I make popcorn without a lid (R = realise), I put a paper bag over my head and lose sight of the crow (V = vanish), I inject ink/black food colouring into a tomato and bite off a piece (I = immerse), I pour liquorice sauce under my eyes as if I were crying (V = validate), and I fill the whole room with movement and sound through ceiling-mounted blankets, fans and the current NOAA weather report (O = occupy). Finally, I ask the AI which species is the best survivor and get the answer tardigrade. I ask the AI to create a song called “Tardigrade Survivor”, play the song and transform myself into this creature by putting on a bear suit (R = recognise).
Photos: Charles-Frederick Ouellet, RiAP
- RiAP festival, Quebec, Canada 2024