Sharing the index: Performance

Miles, Rachael

Abstract

Who speaks? And who does not? And who is it that listens? The answers to these questions matter.

This paper is a performance, a draft of which was given at Knowle West Media Centre in March 2015. In Sharing the Index, the 100 logos and brand identities of the UK’s top 100 FTSE index companies are conveyed through a rapid fire game of word association from which a narrative (of sorts) emerges. What is revealed is the story of how these companies (Vodafone, United Utilities, Dorothy Perkins, Shell etc.) have become entwined within the fabric of everyday life, and what is offered is an interpretation of their impacts on a community.

But this isn’t just a story.

Sharing the Index raises questions about the possibilities for radicalism within a neoliberal political landscape. How might a disenfranchised, underpaid and overworked population become motivated towards collective radical action?

Sharing the Index is a deliberately provocative, radical writing and performance work (inspired by artists like Penny Arcade - Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore!), which soberly critiques late capitalism and its role in establishing and maintaining the conditions of poverty.

This performance relies upon ‘reclamation’ and ‘reverse discourse’ (Foucault, History of Sexuality: Vol 1) as a move towards personal and socio-political empowerment. In re-appropriating the logos, brand identities and jingles that the FTSE Top 100 companies use to promote their practices, I develop a user’s guide to, and inject some humour into, the most powerful companies in the UK.

Citation

Miles, R. (2016, September). Sharing the index: Performance. Presented at Radical Interventions: Politics, Culture, Society, University of Brighton, UK

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: Radical Interventions: Politics, Culture, Society
• Conference Location: University of Brighton, UK
• Start Date: Sep 7, 2016
• End Date: Sep 9, 2016
• Acceptance Date: Jan 6, 2016
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Foucault, power, class, performance, capitalism, humour
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/915486
• Publisher URL: http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/research/cappe/cappe-events/conferencesfolder/annual-conference-2016-radical-interventions-politics,-culture-society
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Radical Interventions: Politics, Culture, Society