Dada Aperitivo!

What got you into Dada?

Jackie: I was aware of Dada in a general way through art school (age 17/18), and associated it with punk, and became interested in its contemporary possibilities via Schwitters.

Heather: I was interested in the reality of it, in its preoccupation with using everyday objects or circumstances and challenging them/questioning the conventions of what we come to view as normal. This seemed important to me as my artistic practice developed and it led me to the work of Schwitters.

What do you like about Dada?

Jackie: I like the way it’s an internationally recognisable word, broadly speaking, as a shortcut to identifying politically and artistically like-minded people. Spontaneously – it’s like a swerving, porous void to catch momentarily as it whizzes past, and a way of recognising similar energy in other people’s work.

Heather: If I’m honest, I actually don’t really like to use the word ‘Dada’ as I worry at times it places the work we’re doing in a very specific historical context and aesthetic. However, the thing I’ve really valued about it is the reliance on the individual to enact change by using things that are to hand – the body, a teacup… basic forms or methods of making can be used to say/do something important.

You are often around a table. Tell us something about it. Is there a particular concept which inspire you for the performance ‘Dada Aperitivo at the Tabula Rasa’?

The idea came to us from another performance we did together four years ago, at the Vallum Gallery. There we created a performative action in which we used a table set as a device/system capable to move energies through laughter and nonsense. Through our Dadaist, absurdist interactions – the dishes we threw at each other, the words we used – everything became a detonator of energy. The title was Dinner for Three. It was inspired by Dinner for One, the theatrical television sketch recorded by German TV in 1962. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlNk1aQcn-Y).
We used Colin Morton’s poem At Freedom’s Gate about Schwitters being questioned by border control as a German arriving in Norway. We thought it was a really useful poem to grapple with in the context of the Brexit vote (which had recently happened in 2016). We played with the at times hospitable/aggressive/accusatory tone of the poem in relation to the polarized attitudes in the UK to the refugee crisis and immigration more generally. Some of the lines sounded innocent, others were very accusatory and suspicious. The initial part of the performance is very hospitable, sharing a meal and the second takes this nervous turn into an interrogation of belonging. (https://capa.conncoll.edu/morton.merzbook.html#37).

What were those dishes made of? They were fragile.

Heather: I made all of the plates using unfired clay, which would easily shatter/break. I made a whole dinner set for the performance which was smashed up during our ‘dinner party’. Here you can find the video of Dinner for Three: https://vimeo.com/261719646.

Let’s talk again about your ‘Dada Aperitivo at the Tabula Rasa’ at DadAmeno festival. Which materials did you use?

In 2021 we bought a decommissioned cargo parachute. We made pieces of it into dresses which functioned as large bibs/tablecloths which were joined in the middle to facilitate a collaged ‘aperitivo’ – in the sense of the Italian cultural ritual of engaging in pre-mealtime food and drink, meant to ‘whet the appetite’. The documentation of this performance is printed in the form of a limited-edition zine.

You created a cloth exploding with colorful letters and numbers.

Yes, we developed sections of the parachute using screen printing techniques.

You were just amazing. Dressed as queens and parading down the park steps into the amphitheater.

Thanks to you guys we were able to move easily. DadaMilano as our waiters struggled a lot to try to rescue the aperitivo!

We were very happy to be part of your performance. We also really liked the evolution of the game, which was interrupted by a prosecco break at each round.

We did five rounds, until we yelled “Tabula Rasa!” At that point it was clear that the match had a happy ending.