Circle of Ero-/Surrogation

CIRCLE OF ERO-/SURROGATION (2015)

E/S performances #6-15

The Erogate/Surrogate Performance Series, a long-term curatorial project mostly developed within the frame of the Month of Performance Art-Berlin, is an exploration of the direct and indirect ways we create with and each other as we attempt to re-locate art works into other bodies/sites/ecologies.

Erogation, a word which sadly has fallen into disuse, has its etymological roots in both the acts of giving and inquiring. Therefore, I define erogate performer as the one who offers, proposes a performance or line of research, thus setting it in motion. On the other hand, surrogation means putting into place of another, so a surrogate performer is one who carries, (per/trans)forms, and delivers a given inquiry. Finally, the corrogate performer is the one who brings erogates and surrogates together. The caretakergivergifter. The zookeeper. The curator. A corrogate is the E/S cycle’s initial erogate and also functions as a second surrogate of sorts throughout the process.

For the closing edition of the platform, and in sharp contrast to the set-ups of the two previous years, the artists involved had not only been already co-laboring with and relying on each other for years, but also performed as both erogates and surrogates. In other words, each artist offered a piece for surrogation and received a piece to surrogate.

Ten distinct conversations coalesced into 10 different performances. In order to attend to the many direct and indirect ways this particular circle of friends and MPA-B co-labourers have been infusing and internalizing each other throughout the last years/months/weeks/days/hours, all documentation related to the projects, including the artists’ and curator’s notes, were made available to the public. In addition, a post-performances discussion took place.