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International Conference | 29 June - 03 July 2005 Leddy: David | UK
Tympanic - a maxi-sensory audio tour for one Tympanic was originally presented as a headline act for the 2005 National Review of Live Art in Glasgow and is reworked for the PARIP conference. The tour lasts approximately 40 minutes. Audience members take a short walking tour alone, listening to the artist’s voice on minidisc as they move around nine different locations. Essentially a satirical work, the piece draws heavily on Kristeva's notions of the abject body and the truism of live artists focusing on their own physical body. The notion of ‘confessional’ life-writing and the physical body are drawn together through use of Thomas Couser's theories that biomedical ethics can be applied to performance-making. This marriage of the biomedical and the performative is summed up in the piece's title, which references the tympanic membrane in the inner ear. The content of the 'tour' is a series of supposedly true confessional stories where a pompous and self-aggrandising narrator (Leddy's voice) recounts stories of smash-hit shows and of sexual conquests. As these anecdotes develop we hear descriptions of shows that are more and more derivative and cliched. Along the way self-help books and 'lifestyle' gurus are also lampooned as the narrator offers advice on where to get casual sex as well as some scatological nutrition tips that would Dr. Gillian McKeith choke on her brown rice. A very ambiguous relationship between fact and fiction is established. Along with these things comes a questioning of the artist's relationship with and supposed 'authority' over the viewer. The piece draws into question the notion of 'confessional' performance art, the ethics of the tabloid 'kiss and tell' exposÎ and the veracity of any film that claims to be 'based on a true story.'
David Leddy is a live artist based in Glasgow. He has been described as 'one of the most exciting and energetic artists working in British theatre today' by Total Theatre magazine and 'the rising star of Scottish Theatre' by The Observer. Scotland's top arts magazine, The List, rated him at no 30 in their Top 100 Creative People in Scotland. Throughout his career he has presented work at the UK's most prestigious venues for contemporary performance, including London's Institute for Contemporary Arts, Riverside Studios, and The Pleasance at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. As a festival producer, he has worked with international artists such as Diamanda Gal‡s, Annie Sprinkle, Tim Miller and Ursula Martinez, all of whom have presented premieres for him. He is currently pursuing a PAR PhD at QMUC, Edinburgh.
More information at www.davidleddy.com
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